


Towards Zero

by alittlelesspain, littlelamplight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Agatha Christie AU, F/F, Murder Mystery, a murder a mystery and a whole lotta gays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-07-28 12:57:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16242098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlelesspain/pseuds/alittlelesspain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamplight/pseuds/littlelamplight
Summary: At the lowest point in her life, Alex Danvers is saved from certain death by a mysterious woman. Now, a year later, Alex finds herself embroiled in a family drama involving murder, and the woman whom she owes her life to. She might just end up returning the favour.





	1. Partners in Crime

**Prologue**

Alex drinks before she jumps.

She doesn’t jump _because_ she drinks it, the double shot of whisky that burns all the way down. But, it somehow makes it easier to walk towards the cliff ledge, and face the churning waves below, her mind filled with the enormity of what she plans to do.

She stands too long by the cliffside, hesitating, turning over and over the ring in the middle finger of her left hand. It is a simple steel band with the words _First Do No Harm_ etched into it, the ring the Dean had slipped onto her finger upon her graduation of medical school. No _summa cum laude_ for her, not even a _magna_. It had been a miracle Alex had even scraped by a pass, between the late night binges and early morning stupors.

Still, that ring bothers her, making her hand itch, reminding her of the oath she plans to break.

‘But, it’s my own damn life’. Alex mumbles to herself, because it _is_ , and if she wants to throw it down a fifty-foot cliff, the Hippocratic Oath would just have to deal with it.

It should be a quick jump, and it is, at the start. All it takes is a running leap over the cliff, and then Alex is plummeting towards the waves below.

Somewhere during the jump, things should suddenly start looking less bleak, her problems less unsurmountable. Alex has read that somewhere, but the moment doesn’t come. Halfway down, her life seems as pointless as ever. A mother whom she could never seem to satisfy. A string of broken relationships. A father whose death had brought with it a grief so inconsolable that relief for it could only be found at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. There comes no sudden clarity, no sudden solution to deal with these.

What she experiences instead is a sudden jerk, as her legs catch in the tree growing out of the cliffside, that the half-drunk Alex hadn’t seen in the darkness. She swings in the air for a few moments, hoisted by the treacherous branch, before it gives way, and she plunges the rest of the way down.

And then-

Pain. Overwhelming pain shoots out from every part of her body, as Alex bobs along on the surface of the water, half-conscious and wholly impatient for death.

Instead of death, there comes an indistinct shout, and a series of splashes, before strong arms are lifting her out of the water, carefully but not carefully enough to prevent Alex from groaning, as several fractured limbs are jostled.

 _‘Fuck off’,_ she mumbles in protest, her pain-addled mind getting itself together just long enough to force those two words out through gritted teeth.

Then, there’s the feeling of sand on her back, and a body looming over her. Alex has a brief impression of concerned green eyes, and wet brown hair with a streak of white running through it, before she blacks out from pain.

* * *

 

**Chapter One**

_**A year later** _

The cliffs are beautiful. Alex had never really noticed that, before. They’d been a means to an end, the last time she’d been here, a hazy silhouette against the sun that promised an end to everything tumbling around in her head.

It’s only now that she realises how far she’s come, standing in the road with her hands shoved in her pockets, watching the light bouncing off the surf to flicker against the white cliffs that climb high towards the sky. She sees a thing of beauty now, and there’s no ache in her chest for something darker.

Smiling, she turns away and climbs the steps to the station. It’s a small building, covered in picturesque ivy that really does match the whole ‘lazy seaside town where nothing ever happens’ vibe this place gives off, though J’onn had warned her that that wasn’t _exactly_ true.

It never is, in her experience.

‘Morning’, she says, smiling at the uniform officer behind the desk, ‘I’m here to see Detective Lane? I have an appointment’.

The man nods, and jerks his thumb down the hall. ‘She’s -’

‘You must be Detective Danvers, right?’ A very small woman rounds the corner carrying a steaming cup in her hands, and gives her a crooked smile. ‘Lane’.

Alex sticks her hand out. ‘Call me Alex’.

‘Lucy’. In her fitted trousers and suspenders, Lucy manages to look quite professional despite the fact that her white shirt is rolled all the way up to her elbows, and she seems to have forgotten her tie somewhere. ‘Nice to meet you’. She waves at the officer behind the counter. ‘Thanks, Winn’.

Winn salutes, and Lucy beckons to Alex. ‘Want some tea?’

‘Sure’. Alex follows Lucy into the breakroom, glancing around as she does. ‘It’s pretty quiet here’.

Lucy snorts. ‘You’d think so, huh. We actually had a death the other night’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘Murder?’

‘Well… no’. There’s an odd note to Lucy’s voice, and when she turns back and places the cup of tea in front of Alex, she looks troubled. ‘It was an old lawyer with a heart problem. Climbed the stairs after he’d had a bit too much to drink’.

Alex frowns, cradling the cup in her hands. ‘Wasn’t there a lift?’

Lucy props her chin in her hand. ‘Apparently it was out of order’.

Alex winces. ‘That’s… unfortunate’.

Lucy makes a noncommittal sound. She shakes herself, and says, ‘anyway, J’onn called. Said you might need some help with something?’

‘Oh, yeah’. Alex scrubs a hand over the back of her neck a little awkwardly. ‘I… a while ago I had an… accident. I was cliff jumping over near Gull’s Point, and I got caught in the current. I would’ve died, if I hadn’t been saved’.

Lucy’s brow furrows slightly. ‘I heard about that. You were very lucky’.

Alex manages a small smile. ‘That’s why I’m here. I wanted to… thank the person who saved me. I didn’t really have the opportunity’.

Lucy nods slowly. ‘It was Astra, wasn’t it? From Gull’s Point?’

‘Yeah. J’onn told me you know some of the family. I was wondering if you could… introduce me? If you’re not busy, that is’.

Lucy stares down into her tea for a moment, her brow furrowing tightly. ‘I’m not. It’s just… you’ve come at an odd time’.

Alex takes a sip, and rests her cup against her cheek. ‘How do you mean, odd?’

Lucy taps her fingers on the table, her tongue stuck in her cheek thoughtfully. She sighs heavily, and says, ‘It might be nothing. I mean, _everyone_ thinks it’s nothing. It’s just… ’

‘Gut feeling?’

‘Yeah’.

‘J’onn’s always told me to trust my instincts’. Alex smiles. ‘It could be important’.

Lucy sighs, and runs a hand through her hair. ‘It’s… what I said about the lawyer’.

‘The one who climbed the stairs when the lift was out of order?’

‘Well, that’s just it’. Lucy takes a sip of tea, and Alex notices suddenly that she looks very tired. ‘The hotel says that the lift wasn’t out of order. That they didn’t put the sign there’.

Alex frowns. ‘So… someone else put the sign there?’

‘Exactly. People are saying it was just a stupid prank, but… he died, because of it. And _everyone_ knew about his heart problem’.

‘You think someone did it hoping… or knowing that he’d die?’ Alex puts her cup down, and leans her elbows on the table. ‘But why would anyone do that? Was there a reason to murder him?’

‘Honestly, I don’t know’. Lucy rubs her hand over her face. ‘There’d been a get together, up at Gull’s Point the night before. He’s the family’s lawyer, so he’d been invited. Got quite drunk’.

Alex tilts her head. ‘But something doesn’t feel right?’

Lucy nods. She folds her fingers behind her neck, and sighs again. She looks up suddenly. ‘Maybe you can help me out’.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Well… I don’t really have any reason to be up there asking nosy questions’.

Alex laughs. ‘They wouldn’t like that?’

‘Some of them are nice enough’. A faint flush colours Lucy’s cheeks. ‘Most of the women are lovely, actually. But Lionel’, she snorts, ‘he’d sooner push you off the cliff than see a _commoner_ in his household’.

Alex frowns. ‘Wait, so does Astra live there? Or Lionel?’

Lucy raises her eyebrows. ‘You really didn’t see how big that place is? A whole extended family lives up there’.

Alex shifts, and props her boots up on the chair beside her. ‘Well, go on. I’ll have to know who is who, if I’m to snoop for you’.

Lucy hesitates. ‘Are you sure? I mean, you really don’t have to, and I could be wrong’.

Alex grins. ‘Hey, who doesn’t like a bit of snooping?’

Lucy smiles back, and gets up. She rummages around in the cupboards, and brings out a tin. ‘Here’, she says, shoving it along the table towards her, ‘for agreeing to help, you can have some of my biscuits’.

Alex eagerly unscrews the tin, and Lucy leans back in her chair, slinging her arm over the back of it. ‘So you’ve got Lady Camilla Tressilian. Old lady, bedridden, wit as sharp as her tongue, apparently. Then there’s Lionel Luthor, a former ward of her husband. That’s where things get complicated’.

‘Oh?’ Alex manages around a mouthful of biscuit. It’s a _really_ good biscuit.

‘There’s Lillian Luthor, Lionel’s ex wife, and their young daughter Lena. Then there’s Alura, Lionel’s fiance, and her daughter Kara. She’s about the same age as Lena. And then there’s Astra, Alura’s sister - and twin’. Lucy points. ‘That’s important. They’re pretty much impossible to tell apart’.

Alex brushes crumbs from her chin. ‘Wait… so Lionel’s ex _and_ fiance live in the same place? Isn’t that a bit… tense?’

Lucy shrugs. ‘Well, apparently Lillian had a breakdown, around the time Lionel divorced her, so maybe one thing led to the other. It was all amicable, though, I hear. They all live in the same place so that Lena can see both her parents. And Alura and Lillian get along very well, so I’m told’.

‘It’s still… weird’.

‘It’s bizarre’. Lucy snorts, and reaches for a biscuit herself. ‘But the rich are basically another race’.

Alex takes another biscuit. ‘So they were all there that night? When the lawyer died?’

‘Mr Treaves, yeah’. Lucy dunks her biscuit in her tea. ‘Along with Lara, and her son Kal’.

‘Lara?’

‘Old family friend of the twins. She and Alura are in-laws - their dead husbands were brothers’.

‘So Kara and Kal are cousins?’

‘Right. She moved here when the twins did, so that they could stay together’. Lucy brushes off her hands, and puts the lid back on the tin, batting Alex’s hand away when she reaches for another biscuit. ‘It was quite a gathering’.

Alex takes another sip of her tea, and shakes her head. ‘It sounds headache-inducing, honestly’.

Lucy laughs. ‘I’ve heard Lady Tressilian doesn’t like it much’.

Alex gulps the rest of her tea down. ‘So… I go up there, find Astra and thank her, and maybe snoop around a bit?’

Lucy nods. She stands, and grabs her jacket from the chair. ‘I’ll take you. That place can be a bit daunting’.

‘Thanks’.

Lucy hooks her jacket over her shoulder, and bumps their hips together. ‘We’re partners in crime now, right? Least I can do’.

Alex laughs. ‘J’onn said we’d get along’.

‘Well, he’s never been wrong yet’.

* * *

 

‘I get what you mean now’.

‘Hmm?’

‘About how big it is’. Alex cranes her neck back to stare up the face of the house, covered in ivy and shining under the sun. ‘It’s a beautiful house, though’.

Lucy nods, lifting her hand to ring the bell. ‘It’s got some great views, too. You can see right over the bay and out to sea’.

Alex arches an eyebrow. ‘Been here a lot, have you?’

Lucy coughs. ‘The kid, Kara, wandered off once. I had to bring her back’.

‘And you remember the views from that one time?’

Lucy rubs the back of her neck, a faint flush colouring her cheeks. ‘The kid… likes me. She often turns up at the station, and I inevitably have to bring her back’.

The door swings open, and a small, blonde woman wearing a very fashionable dress stands on the threshold. She arches an eyebrow. ‘Back again, Detective?’

‘Hey, Miss Grant’. Lucy waves a hand. ‘Alex, this is Cat Grant. Lady Tressilian’s housekeeper’.

‘Alex? The cliff jumper?’

Alex blinks. ‘You know about that?’

‘Oh, she wouldn’t shut up about it’. She steps aside to wave them in. ‘Kept going on and on about the _beautiful_ thrill seeker she saved from drowning’. The corner of her mouth quirks. ‘Who then told her to fuck off, if I’m not mistaken’.

Alex flushes. ‘I was… confused’.

‘And she was quite enamoured’.

Lucy sniggers. Cat turns quick eyes on her. ‘And I suppose you'll be wanting to see Alura, again?’

The emphasis is clear, and Lucy flushes again. ‘I mean… if she's here?’

Cat rolls her eyes. ‘Yes, she’s here’. She turns, waving to them over her shoulder. ‘Come on. Alura's in the sitting room. I'll let her introduce you to her sister, Alex’.

They follow her. Alex is a little surprised by how fast she moves for such a small woman, but she has the impression Cat wouldn't take very kindly to the comment.

The sitting room is large and spacious, furnished with surprisingly modern, tasteful furniture, which Alex suspects is probably down to the housekeeper. There’s a number of small children playing on the terrace, and a woman reading in a window seat.

‘Alura’, Cat calls, ‘you have visitors’.

Lucy mentioned that Astra and Alura were twins, but it’s still something of a shock, when Alura looks up and Alex sees the mirror image of the woman who saved her. Alura’s mouth curves in a smile, and she says, ‘Lucy! How nice to see you!’

Lucy smiles back, and Alex notices that the previously present flush in her cheeks has vanished. Good for her, being able to handle her crush. ‘Hey, Alura. This is Alex’.

Alura stands, the corners of her eyes crinkling as her smile widens, and she extends a hand for Alex to shake. ‘Alex! I’m so glad to meet you at last’.

Alex smiles. ‘It’s nice to meet you too’.

‘You must be here to see Astra, of course?’

‘Ah, yeah. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk last time’.

‘Understandably’. Alura glances over at the children sitting out on the terrace, and then over at Cat. ‘Cat, do you know where Lionel is?’

Cat waves a dismissive hand. ‘Off galavanting, probably’. Her lips purse slightly. ‘Or fawning over Lady Tressillian’.

The corner of Alura’s mouth turns down slightly, and she glances away. A heavy tension settles between the two women, and Alex can tell by the way Lucy shifts slightly that she’s not the only one aware of it. Then Lucy coughs, and says, ‘I can mind them, if you want, while you take Alex to Astra’.

Relief floods Alura’s face, and she nods, reaching out to touch Lucy’s cheek briefly. ‘Thank you’.

Lucy shrugs, as if colour isn’t tingeing her cheeks. ‘No problem’.

Alura beckons to Alex and turns away, and Alex bumps her shoulder against Lucy’s before following her. The woman grumbles under her breath, and Cat makes a sound like a long suffering sigh.

Alex follows Alura through the grand house with her hands shoved deep in her pockets. She finds herself thinking, not of her reunion with her saviour, but of the interaction she had just witnessed. How Lucy felt like there was something… odd going on. If she’s remembering correctly, Lionel is Alura’s fiance. It seems a little strange then, that Cat would be so vocal of her dislike of him.

‘Were all those kids yours?’

Alura jolts, as if surprised she’s being spoken to. ‘Oh, no. I only have one child - Kara. She’s with Astra right now, actually. The others were Carter, Cat’s son, Kal, my nephew, and Lena… Kara’s friend’.

‘That’s a lot of kids under one roof’.

Alura smiles. It looks a little strained. ‘Better than no laughter at all’.

Alex doesn’t have time to comment on the rather odd sentence, because Alura steps through a stone archway and out onto a terrace. It’s a wide open space with a pool carved into what looks like a natural foundation of smooth stone, with ivy wound up the pillars supporting the roof. From her place on the steps, Alex can look over the railing and out to sea, where the light dances along the calm ocean.

It’s breathtaking.

'Astra', Alura says, and Alex tears her gaze away from the view to look for the woman, 'you have a visitor'.

It takes her a moment to spot the woman, and when she does, her throat goes very dry.

Astra is doing smooth, continuous laps of the pool, and all Alex can really see of her is a mane of hair and long, strong limbs under the water. There's a young girl sitting on the edge, her feet dangling in the water, a sketch book propped in her lap, and she has Alura's bright, gentle smile.

Alura sighs heavily, and says fondly, 'Kara, get her out, will you?'

Kara grins. She leaps up to place her sketchbook out of the way on a bench, and picks up a bucket full of water waiting by the edge of the pool. Alex watches her wait, poised with her toes curled over the edge, until Astra passes beneath her, upon which she empties the entire thing into the water over her head.

Astra surges out of the water at once, tossing her hair over her shoulder in an arch that follows the curve of her strong, powerful body, and Alex feels her stomach bottom out.

There’d been a strange, almost desperate idea that maybe Astra wasn’t attractive as her half conscious mind had thought. Maybe she’d thought she was being saved by some kind of godly mermaid because of some kind of hero worship. But, staring at Astra now, Alex has the horrible, utterly disastrous revelation that Astra is just as as attractive as she’d thought.

Astra wipes her hand over her face, blinking droplets of water from her eyelashes, and fixes Kara with a sharp look. ‘Careful, little one. You are balancing precariously close to the water’.

She lunges, and Kara squeals, dropping the bucket before Astra grabs her around the waist and sweeps her up into her arms. ‘Oh no’, Astra says with mock despair, ‘you are too heavy… my arms… they cannot hold you up’.  

Kara laughs and kicks, her feet splashing in the water, and Alura chuckles. The woman shakes her head fondly, and says, ’Astra, you have a visitor’.

Astra glances up briefly, takes in Alex standing by Alura’s side, and sits Kara on the edge of the pool again. ‘You have been spared’, she says, placing her hands on the edge of the pool and pushing herself out, ‘for now’.

Alex tries, and desperately fails, not to stares at the muscles in Astra’s back as she stands. The woman stretches, and snags a towel from the bench before she turns and walks towards them. For a moment, Alex wonders if the woman will recognise her. Astra stares at her, pausing with her towel wrapped haphazardly around her body, pressing it to her wild, mermaid worthy hair. Alex tries not to stare at the lines in her arms.

Then the woman's expression breaks into a wide, dazzling smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and says, 'well, if it isn't my brave cliff jumper'.

Alex lets out a slow breath. She wasn’t sure exactly how Astra was going to reference what happened, but she’s relieved she didn’t say anything in front of Alura, or Kara. ‘Hello. I thought I should actually introduce myself’. She sticks her hand out. ‘Alex Danvers’.

Astra chuckles. She rubs her hand dry on the towel, and takes it. Her hands are surprisingly soft. ‘Astra’.

‘Come, Kara’, Alura beckons to her daughter, ‘lets give them some space’.

Astra points at Kara as she skips over to take Alura’s hand. ‘Watch out, little one’.

Kara giggles, and Astra is still smiling when she looks back at Alex. Her eyes are soft and fond, and Alex needs to get her head screwed on properly and stop thinking about how attractive she is. ‘So, you came all this way just to say hello?’

Alex shakes her head. She twists her hands a little anxiously, watching as Astra moves closer, rubbing the towel over her back, and says, ‘well… you left so quickly. I never got the chance to thank you’.

Astra pauses. She drapes her towel over her shoulders, and steps closer. Her brow furrows slightly, concern glinting in her eyes, and murmurs, ‘how are you?’

‘I’m better’. It’s strange to think that the last time she was in this place, she couldn’t even manage a forced smile. Now, she smiles easily at the woman. ‘A lot better. And that… I wouldn’t have had the chance to get better, if it wasn’t for you. So thank you. Really’.

Astra smiles. It’s soft and sincere, and she reaches out to give Alex’s shoulder a light squeeze. ‘I’m glad to hear it’. She tilts her head towards the arch. ‘Walk with me?’

Alex shoves her hands in her pockets again. ‘Sure’.

Together, they move out down the hallway back towards the sitting room. Alex tries to make sure she doesn’t accidentally bump against Astra’s arm as she walks. ‘So, what have you been up to?’

‘I got a job. And old friend of my father’s… found me, after you saved me. Offered to mentor me’. Alex gives the woman a small smile. ‘He’s helped a lot’.

‘What’s his name?’

‘J’onn J’onzz’.

Astra pauses at the door to the sitting room. Her brow pinches slightly, and she glances through the door towards the the terrace, where Lucy is talking to Alura. Alura is leaning down slightly, her hand settled lightly on Lucy’s shoulder while Lucy talks animatedly, and Astra says slowly, ‘you’re with the police?’  
  
Alex nods. 'I'm not working, but yeah. Joined after you saved me. Lucy's just showing me around'.  
  
Something shutters behind Astra's eyes. 'I see', she says, and while her expression doesn't really change, there's something... odd, in her voice, 'excuse me'.  
  
Astra moves away from her, and taps Alura on the arm. Alura pauses mid conversation with Lucy, says something Alex can't hear, and follows her sister out onto the terrace.  
  
Alex frowns. Lucy moves to join her, and bumps their shoulders together in greeting. 'Well? What do you think?'  
  
Alex thinks about the sudden change in Astra, the odd tension that occurred when Lionel was mentioned, despite being Alura’s fiance.  

'I think you're right. Something's... off'.


	2. Crooked House

The next morning finds the newly minted Detective Alex Danvers striding down to the station at the crack of dawn, ready to begin her first official day of duties. With Lucy away for the day due to a meeting with her father, Alex finds herself left to her own devices, and busies herself with filing away the piled up paperwork, familiarizing herself with the station as she goes about her task.

She realizes, over the course of the morning, that the station is busier than she had expected for a seaside resort town, with a number of minor reports trickling in every hour, that keep both her and the sole officer on duty - Winn - occupied until late in the afternoon. It’s only when her stomach grumbles in protest that Alex realizes it’s almost one o’clock, and that she’s had nothing save for tea in the morning.

‘What do you say we go for a lunch break?’ she asks Winn, as she files the last report. ‘The deputy can handle things for a hour or so’.

‘In a minute’, Winn says. He looks at his watch, then up at the clock on the wall, before winking at Alex. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to be having another visitor soon’.

Alex frowns at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Wait for it’, Winn says, holding up a finger conspiratorially. ‘You’ll hear her soon... ah, there she is. Like clockwork, everyday’.

There’s the soft thump of feet running up the station door. Then, a familiar blonde girl hurries into view, staring all around her with bright-eyed eagerness.

‘Like I said... clockwork’, Winn says, disappearing into the back room, just as Kara enters the station.

‘She’s not here today’, Alex says, watching with some amusement as the girl’s face clearly falls, when she takes in Lucy’s empty desk.

The devil’s streak in Alex takes over as Kara paces around the station, her disappointment fading away when she eyes the station’s newest detective with obvious curiosity.

‘I’m filling in for her, though’, Alex offers. ‘You’re here to report some serious crime, right? There’s no other reason for you to be taking up a detective’s time during such a busy day, is there?’

If she’d expected the kid to quail, Kara just snorts, and gives Alex an unimpressed stare.

‘I remember you’, she says, ‘You’re the one who tripped over your feet in front of my aunt yesterday, aren’t you?’

Alex, to some horror, finds her face warming up.

‘That’s-’ she bites her lip, and gathers herself, hands on her hips. ‘That’s none of your business, kid’.

‘Uh-huh’. The girl gives her a knowing look. ‘Not you too. Lucy is bad enough, but at least she’s not so _clumsy_ ’.

Alex jaw works, as she tries not to flush to her roots.

‘Come on, I’m taking you home’. She stalks over to Kara, holding an imperious hand out. ‘I’m sure your mum will be relieved to see you back safe and sound’.

‘Not before you take these’, Winn calls out, hurrying out of the backroom with two pastries, which he offers to Kara. ‘Here. M’gann sent over a bunch of these from her bakery, and there’s way too many for us to finish off’.

With a pastry in each hand, Kara doesn’t protest much as Alex leads her out of the office, and up the tree-laden path to the mansion. Alex hangs back as the girl hurries ahead, obviously knowing the way better than her.

‘You really do come by often, don’t you?’ she asks, as Kara climbs her way through the stony path adroitly. ‘Winn said you’re like clockwork’.

‘Mm-hmmf’, the girl replies through a mouthful, and then swallows, pastry fluff flying everywhere. ‘It’s not like there’s much to do here, in the summer’.

‘Really?’ Alex walks a little faster now, to keep up with Kara’s skipping pace. ‘Lucy says you have parties up there every night’.

‘Not every night’. Kara screws up her face. ‘They’re just boring grownup parties, anyway’.

‘Mm-hmm’, Alex murmurs, her mind only half on the conversation, as she looks at the beautiful woodland around her.

It really is all so beautiful, even in the harsh light of day. How strange, that she hadn’t noticed that at all, the last time she was here.

‘And mum always makes us go play in the garden after supper, anytime we have guests’, Kara continues, just as if Alex had displayed genuine interest, ‘Just like she did last week, when Mr. Treaves was invited to supper’.

‘Mr. Treaves?’ Alex’s interest turns away from the trees, as the name sparks some memory in her. Had it been Lucy, who’d mentioned him to her? ‘He was... wait... he was a lawyer wasn’t he? The lawyer who...’

Her voice trails off, as she remembers that the man had died, and under suspicious circumstances at that, but Kara seems unphased. She simply nods cheerfully, and jumps over another large stone in her path.

‘He was telling a story about one of his old cases, but mum told me to go out and play with Lena and Kal’.

Alex makes what she hopes is a sympathetic noise, her mind whirring away, seemingly having been kickstarted into action at the mention of the lawyer’s name. ‘I guess lawyer talk must be pretty boring, kid’.

‘Oh, no’, Kara says, her face screwing up again. ‘I liked Mr. Treaves. He always had such interesting stories. Did you know that one of the last executions from the death penalty was carried out in our own county jail? Mum was pretty angry at him for letting me know about that’.

Alex stares at the girl, privately marvelling to herself at the resilience of children, when an idea occurs to her. If Kara had clearly liked the lawyer’s stories, and if he had been relating an anecdote the night of the murder...

Most people might feel guilty about pumping a child for information on a nascent case. Alex Danvers isn’t most people.

‘And what story was he telling you last week?’ she finds herself asking.

Kara’s brows knit. ‘Well, see, I was hiding behind the window listening, but Mum found me before he got to the good parts’.

‘What did you manage to hear?’

‘Something about...’ Kara’s brows knit further, in concentration. ‘Something about a child who was shot, I think? Or maybe doing the shooting? I don’t remember...’

Her voice trails off uncertainly, and Alex’s eyebrows rise, not having expected something that visceral.

‘Nevermind, Kara’, she says, hurriedly backtracking. ‘Let’s just get you to your mother, before she finds you missing again’.

And let’s hope like hell she doesn’t ask you what you talked to me about, she adds silently, as Kara nods and skips forward, clearly having dropped the subject from her mind.

And yet, the death of the lawyer circles through Alex’s mind, all the rest of the way to the mansion. She knows, without any good reason for knowing it, that it’s important in some way, and that it’s somehow connected to the strange family of the woman who had saved her.

* * *

 

 

It’s Astra who opens the door, when Alex knocks on it, with Kara in tow.

‘Oh’, Alex says, thrown by the forbidding expression on the woman’s face, as Astra takes them in. ‘I thought, I mean, uh, Cat-’

‘Cat’s decided to take off for the afternoon, and ordered me to man the door’, Astra says, looking beyond Alex to the skulking Kara. She seems to be fighting off a smile. ‘Run away again, did you, Little One?’

‘I finished my lessons first’, Kara says, before trying to slink past her, but Astra puts a hand out like a shot, to stall the girl.

‘Not before you run out to the gardens, and let your mother know that you’re back’.

Alex, watching with mixed amusement and awkwardness, sticks her hands in her pockets and turns away, figuring that it’s about time she gets going.

‘And where are you going?’ Astra asks, turning back to her with lightning rapidity.

‘They’ll be expecting me back at the station’, Alex says shortly, stung by the near-accusing glance levelled at her. She nods down at Kara, who’s still tugging at her sleeve. ‘See you later, kid’.

‘Alex’, Astra looks reproachful, and makes an involuntary motion, as if she’d meant to reach for Alex before stopping herself.

Alex rocks on her heels, not sure what’s expected of her.

‘Oh, stop terrorizing the poor girl and let her through, Astra’, says a new voice, from behind the looming woman. ‘I swear, you can be even more forbidding than Cat, sometimes’.

An odd look overtakes Astra’s face and she steps aside, waving Alex through. Alex walks in, Kara sidling in beside her, to see a dignified old lady stretched across the armchair of the drawing room, who is currently surveying her with bright eyes.

‘You’re the new detective down at the station, aren’t you?’ the old woman asks. ‘Are you going to be turning up here at all hours of the day, too? Detective Lane stops by so often that you’d think half the crimes in the town were committed right here in this drawing room’.

Alex manages to stifle her snort, and looks around hastily, catching a glint of an amused smile from Astra, just as quickly smothered.

‘This is Lady Tressilian, Alex’, Astra says, finally deigning to make introductions. ‘Lady Tressilian, this is-’

‘The woman you wouldn’t stop going on and on about last year, yes’, Lady Tressilian cuts in. ‘Sit down, girl. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel as if I know you already’.

Alex sits down, not comforted by that last sentence, and wondering what exactly the lady has heard about her. She risks a glance up at Astra. For once, the woman’s guarded stare melts. She gives Alex a slight smile, and a barely perceptible shake of the head, as if reading exactly what question is on Alex’s mind. Alex relaxes a little more.

‘Right’, she says, turning back to Lady Tressilian. ‘I really just wanted to make sure Kara got back safely’.

‘That’s what Detective Lane always says, too’, Lady Tressilian replies, in a deadpan voice, before nodding her head towards the table between them, where the tea has been set out. ‘Go on, then’.

Alex gratefully grabs onto a cup, mostly to escape the need to talk.

‘Astra, don’t you have somewhere to be?’ Lady Tressilian asks, turning pointedly to the woman who has been skulking behind Alex’s chair, making Alex acutely aware of her presence despite her silence. ‘I could have sworn Lara said that you promised to practise fencing with her this afternoon’.

Unheeding, Astra lingers, looking between Alex and Lady Tressilian with obvious reluctance.

‘Silly girl’, the old woman says. ‘She’s not going to disappear if you let her out of your sight for a few minutes’.

Alex starts, and turns back to Astra, who’s already stalking stiffly out of the room, although not before Alex catches a glimpse of her face, which rather resembles the guilty expression on Kara’s a few minutes earlier. Alex turns back to Lady Tressilian, to find that she is being surveyed with viper-sharp eyes.

‘It’s like that, is it?’ the old woman asks.

Alex takes a sip of tea, too much at once. She chokes, which is as good a way to avoid answering as any.

‘ _Clumsy’,_ Kara whispers, from beside her.

Alex tries to glare, although it’s a little hard, given her current undignified state.

‘And don’t you have somewhere to be, little Kara?’ Lady Tressilian asks. ‘You’ll run your poor mother ragged one of these days, chasing you all over the countryside’.

Kara pouts and slouches out, and then Alex is well and truly alone, facing a great lady that Lucy has told her some rather alarming stories about.

‘Good girl, that’, Lady Tressilian remarks, looking after the retreating Kara. ‘Although, it’s true that her mother worries about her running alone all over the place, not to mention the ridiculous things she takes an interest in’.

Alex makes a noncommittal noise, focusing on stirring her tea around to cool it down.

‘Running after that lawyer, for one thing’, the old lady continues, just as if Alex had encouraged her to. ‘Used to hang on to his every word, she did’.

Alex looks up from her tea sharply.

‘Oh yes, I do mean that lawyer’, Lady Tressilian says, looking unmoved by her surprise. ‘The one who died last week. I’m sure that Detective Lane has already told you about it’.

‘Mr. Treaves?’ Alex asks, to clarify.

‘He was actually a great friend of mine, you know’. The old woman looks pensively at the fireplace, before her penetrating gaze sweeps over Alex again. ‘You _are_ looking into it, aren’t you?’

Alex swallows another great gulp of tea, wondering whether to bite her tongue or not. Whatever suspicions there may have arisen about the circumstances of the lawyer’s death, there’s no sense in disturbing anyone else with them, let alone an aging woman.

‘Inquiries are being made’, she says, neutrally.

Lady Tressilian snorts.

‘That’s what all of you say, but I wonder if any of you are taking it seriously. Just because a man is old, and his heart a little feeble, you think he’ll just fall over like that, because of a little climb. Us old folk are stronger than that, you know, although I’m sure there are many who wish that wasn’t the case’.

Alex raises her eyebrows, and wonders if she should stick to drinking her tea again, instead of coming up with an appropriate reply. She’s never been a conversational person at the best of times, let alone with someone like Lady Tressilian, who seems to approach conversation the way other people approach duels.

‘You disagree?’ the lady prompts.

Alex shrugs. ‘Why would you think anyone wishes that? Do you have any particular reason?’

Lady Tressilian looks taken aback by that parry at first, before an odd look steals over her face.

‘Direct, are you?’ she asks. ‘Tell me, girl... do you not see the crowd flocking around this house, like vultures waiting for a carcass?’

Alex frowns. She’s hardly a scholar of the inheritance laws of large estates, but-

‘Doesn’t it all go to your son by law?’ she asks.

‘My son?’ Lady Tressilian looks at Alex like she’s off her head.

‘Your son Lionel?’ Alex ventures. ‘Lionel Luthor?’

‘Lionel?’ A sharp bark of laughter escapes the old woman. ‘He’s no son of mine. He was my husband’s ward, and it’s true that I’ve kept him around. Yes, I’m sure he does think the will is entirely in his favour, but...’

Alex watches her avidly, but Lady Tressilian chooses then to become pensive again, staring out of the window.

‘Of course, he has good reason to believe it’, she says, as if to herself. ‘I can’t say I blame him for assuming it, after everything’.

‘Assuming what?’ Alex prompts, curious now despite herself.

‘The will, girl’, Lady Tressilian says, looking annoyed. ‘The new will I made up. Haven’t you been listening?’

Alex eyes her askance, thrown off guard by the barrage of nonsequitors, and wondering whether the old woman’s mind or her own mind is going.

‘Oh, nevermind’, Lady Tressilian says, waving the statement away, ‘That’s not what you came here for, is it?’

‘I didn’t come here for anything’, Alex snaps, at the end of her patience.

Then, she realizes who she had just snapped at.

‘I mean-’

Alex trails off faintly, but the august lady just watches her, with a small smile playing around her lips.

‘I like you’, she says, suddenly. ‘I can see why Astra... oh yes, I can certainly see why. Stay for supper, girl’.

Alex stares. Before she can formulate a reply, Kara rushes into the room, clearly having been eavesdropping from outside.

‘Yes, stay, Alex! Come on!’

Alex transfers her stare to the newly arrived girl, who is rapidly followed by her apologetic mother.

‘Kara, don’t intrude on their conversation!’ Alura says, before turning a hesitant smile on Alex.

‘Oh, leave the child be’, Lady Tressilian says, not looking put out in the least. ‘Now, Alura, I was inviting our new detective to supper. What do you think?’

Alura’s smile turns blinding, nothing like the strained expression she’d worn the day before.

‘I think it’s wonderful!’ she says. ‘Do stay, Alex. Perhaps Lu... I mean, Detective Lane would like to join, too?'

She looks so hopeful at the last question that Alex feels quite bad for having to burst her bubble.

‘Um, Lucy is out seeing her father’, she mumbles, quailing as the woman's smile falters, and grasps at the first excuse she can conjure up for herself. ‘And I have work’.

‘Come back in the evening, then’, a calm voice says behind them.

Alex turns back, and gapes.

Astra stands there, idly twirling a rapier. She’s dressed in a sheer black uniform that covers everything, and yet leaves nothing at all to the imagination. Alex can see the powerful arm muscles straining against her uniform, as Astra twirls the weapon, and the strength in the tapered waist.

‘Do you mean to practise right here in the drawing room?’ Lady Tressilian inquires, acidly. ‘Do I have to look forward to slashed curtains and cushion covers?’

Astra only acknowledges that so far as to tuck the rapier back into its hilt, before walking forward, sinuous and smooth and captivating. Alex watches her raptly, all irritation quite forgotten.

‘You have a break before your night shift, don’t you?’ Astra asks. ‘Plenty of time to make it to supper’.

‘Right’, Alex says, trying to get her brain firing some coherent thoughts again, and well aware that there are at least other three pairs of eyes watching the two of them. ‘I thought-’

Whatever doubts she had been about to voice, of whether Astra really wants her to stay, after her previous aloof behaviour, dies when Astra reaches out to skim a hand down her arms. The touch is merely glancing, as if the woman is afraid to make actual contact, save for the fingers that press momentarily into the pad of Alex’s palm.

‘Come back in the evening’, Astra murmurs. ‘Alright?’

Alex swallows and looks down, feeling weirdly self-conscious over her reaction to the simple touch. ‘Alright’.

* * *

 

 

Supper is an odd affair. Alex can find no other word for it.

Oh, everyone is perfectly nice to her, and she finally gets to meet the elusive Lionel Luthor. He’s nondescript, polite and a little aloof, much like every other gentleman of his type that Alex has ever met. Alex vaguely remembers that the man is some sort of tennis star, and the favourite to win some tournament or other coming up this year, but she doesn’t follow the sport closely enough to remember the details. She simply notes him down as yet another figure of interest to keep an eye on, as per Lucy’s instructions.

And yet, there is an odd feeling that nags away at her through the entirety of the evening, though Alex can’t put her finger on it. Not about anyone at the table, specifically. Just a general sense of unease that keeps her on edge, without any real reason for it.

For her part, Alex mostly lets the conversation wash over her, replying to a few polite inquiries from the various diners, without offering much conversation. She’s used to blending into the background, and it’s easy to lose herself in the crowded table, where half a dozen conversations are being held at any given time. Aside from Kara - who had insisted to be seated next to her, and who seems to be hellbent on a scheme to sneak her vegetables onto Alex’s plate, and steal away her potatoes in return - no one really seems to notice her, other than to the extent that politeness dictates.

Which is just fine with Alex, who takes the chance to observe this strange family that she’s suddenly found herself thrown in the midst of.

There’s Lionel just to the right of his hostess, as affable as ever as he holds simultaneous conversations with Cat and Lillian. Alex marvels briefly at how the man manages to field the cutting wit of the housekeeper, and maintain a genial discourse with his ex-wife about the newly replanted gardens, at the same time. She doesn’t think she could have even managed one, not without a strong drink beforehand.

Lara, the new arrival whom Alura had pointed out to Alex as Clark’s mother, has seated herself by Lillian’s side, and never left it. She seems to be holding court now, in a floating conversation that flows around the orbit of every adult, with some attention occasionally making its way over to the children, who are busy among themselves. Alex watches the woman, observing the way the mood of the table lifts with her laughter. Even Astra, who has held herself aloof from the rest of the diners for most of the evening, seems to be unbending at the sound, responding to the woman in a more restrained conversation held privately between the two.

Alex swallows down her forgotten mouthful of food, caught in a dilemma. Despite her assurances to Lucy about keeping an eye on the family, she feels weird about eavesdropping on Astra, especially when the woman has been so laconic throughout the evening. She’s been so short that Alex wonders why Astra had even invited her to supper at all. Astra certainly gives no indication at all that she’s actually pleased to see Alex here.

Resolving not to wallow in that disappointment, Alex moves hurriedly onto Alura’s murmured conversation with Lady Tressilian, which is too quiet for her to fully make out. Something about the golf game from the previous evening, and Alura’s swings going wrong.

‘You know you need your clubs made specially, dear’, Lady Tressilian is saying. More like commanding, really. ‘Tell Lionel to order you a new set’.

Alex, never having been interested in the type of sport that could only have been thought up by someone with a healthy aversion to actual exercise, tunes out just as Alura replies to the matriarch’s command with a faint smile and a fainter murmur. She glances back down to her plate instead, in time to catch Kara trying to sneak more green beans onto it. Alex discreetly bats the encroaching spoon away.

‘Hey, don’t make your mum yell at me’, she whispers. ‘You don’t want me kicked out in disgrace, do you?’

Kara scowls.

‘But, they’re gross’, she whispers back.

Feeling eyes on them, Alex looks around furtively. Thankfully, Alura is still engaged in her conversation with Lady Tressilian. Instead, it’s Astra who’s looking their way. Alex catches the tail end of a fond smile, before it dissolves back into the somber stare that seems to be Astra’s usual fare.

Alex stares back down at her plate, her heart and her appetite dropping with equal rapidity.

* * *

 

After supper, Alex demurs an invitation to stay for cards, using her need to get back to the station as the excuse. Just as she’s in the hallway, getting her coat to leave, Kara rushes into view, and grabs her hand.

‘I’ll walk with you’, she declares.

‘Oh no, you don’t’, Alex says, fully prepared to carry the girl back to the table, if necessary, ‘It’s getting late. If you want to see Lucy, you can come by the station tomorrow’.

‘Aww’, Kara says, looking put out. ‘I know the way back’.

‘Doesn’t matter’, Alex says, trying to remain stern in face of a dangerously persuasive pout, ‘You never know what’s lurking around’.

‘Like what?’ Kara demands, hands on her hips.

‘Like me’, a voice answers.

Two arms snake out of the darkness of the alcove, and grab Kara. The girl squeals, the sound dissolving into laughter as Astra moves forward into view, laughing silently.

‘And that-’, she says, ticking Kara mercilessly, as the girl continues giggling, ‘-Is why you shouldn’t be walking alone in the dark anywhere, Little One’.

Alex watches them, drinking in Kara’s peals of laughter, and Astra’s easy smile. It’s so genuine, and the air is palpable with the love the two have for each other. It suddenly strikes Alex that _this_ is what had been missing at supper. Yes, everyone had been polite to each other, and there’d been laughter and jokes, but it had all been so... measured. Alex isn’t very knowledgeable about how rich people go about their lives, but she’s pretty sure they can’t all be that cold in private.

On the other hand, maybe she’s overthinking it. Maybe they’d just been reserved because they had a guest, a stranger, in their midst. Maybe Alex is just clouding the atmosphere with the disquiet of her own mind.

‘...Alex?’ Astra asks. ‘Are you there?’

Alex starts, and realizes that the other two are watching her, and that Astra had clearly said something that she’d missed.

‘I asked whether you’re going back to the station’, Astra says. ‘I’ll walk with you. I have to go to the post office for something, as it happens’.

‘Oh’, Alex says. ‘I mean, you don’t have to.’

She stops, once again unsure of what’s expected. Is Astra just being polite, in offering to walk her, considering that she’d mostly ignored Alex throughout supper?

‘Then, I will’. Astra’s words have a simple finality to them, as she gets up and pats Kara on the back. ‘Go and find your mother, Little One. No more running around for you, tonight’.

Astra falls into step with Alex, as Kara runs back to the house. As they walk back through the road speckled with moonlight, Alex can’t help sneaking glances at the woman, as covertly as she can manage. In the humidity of the night air, the previously well-behaved curls of Astra’s hair float wildly around her face, and Alex _stares_ , as the odd strands of pale silver glint in the moonlight.

‘Alex?’

Astra eyes her questioningly, and Alex looks away, devoutly grateful for the darkness that hides her rapidly warming face. It doesn’t stop her eyes from dragging back over the woman, though, drawn to study her like a compass to true north.

‘I guess I’ve thanked you already, so I shouldn’t repeat myself’, she says, in the end. ‘It doesn’t feel like enough, though. For saving me, I mean’.

Astra’s lips curl up, quizzically.

‘For doing what any decent person would have done in the situation?’

Alex breathes out a laugh and looks up, talking to the stars as much as to Astra.

‘I wasn’t very pleased about that, once upon a time’.

Astra chuckles. ‘Well, the nurse did tell me that you had some choice words for me, when you woke up at the hospital. Not that you didn’t make your feelings clear with the initial “fuck off”’.

Alex flushes.

‘It didn’t last’, she says, clearing her throat roughly. ‘I just... I want you to know that’.

She’s not the sharing type, not usually. Yet, Alex feels like she owes it to this woman, somehow, to make her believe that she really has changed, since they last met. To let her know how J’onn had helped her get back on her feet, had helped her stitch her life back together, and allowed her to see a future where there’d been nothing but darkness before.

None of which would have happened, if Astra hadn’t saved Alex from the rashest decision of her life, a year ago.

‘Is that so?’ Astra asks, glancing at her again, before turning back to the path.

A sudden doubt overtakes Alex. Has she and Astra been talking at cross purposes, all this time?

‘You do know, don’t you?’ she asks, walking a little faster to keep up with the taller woman’s strides. ‘That I wasn’t actually cliff-jumping, that night?’

Astra turns back to her, and her guarded stare melts away into something much softer, as she comes to an abrupt stop.

‘Yes’, she says, so quietly that the word is almost lost in the swaying of the trees that line their path. A hand reaches out, to flick some hair away from Alex’s face, the gesture so fleeting that Alex could have imagined it. ‘Of course I knew that, brave one’.

‘Not that brave’, Alex murmurs. ‘Not brave enough to face... well, anything’.

‘Brave enough to start over’, Astra says, ‘Brave enough to take everything that life has thrown at you, so far’.

Alex stares back at her, unabashedly taking her in, because Astra looks _beautiful_ , in the moonlight. Maybe it’d be more polite to look away, but Alex doesn’t really care. She doesn’t want to hide or deny this part of herself, not anymore.

‘It felt right to come back here, when the position opened up’, she says. ‘Felt like, I don’t know... like a second chance, maybe’.

‘A second chance’, Astra echoes, sounding very far away.

All at once, the beautifully strong angles of her face look almost skullike, when the full brunt of the moonlight throws them into sharp relief, and Alex feels a sudden chill, as Astra moves in closer. She stands her ground, though, and realizes that Astra’s eyes don’t look hollow, close up, or even guarded. Just sad.

‘This is no place for a second chance, brave one’, Astra says, stroking a calloused thumb down her cheek, gentle in a way that makes Alex’s breath hitch. ‘We’re too stuck in our ways, here’.

‘No’, Alex murmurs, because what’s that supposed to mean? How can Astra say that, when half the reason Alex had come back here is because... because...

But, Astra is shaking her head, the gesture somehow final.

‘You’re better than us, Alex. You should’ve stayed away’.


	3. Appointment with Death

‘Alex’.

‘Fuck!’

Alex scrambles to pick her bag up from the ground, her heart pounding against her chest, and leans heavily against her door. Astra stands there with her hands shoved into the pockets of her aviator jacket, her head tilted slightly. ‘You scare easily for a Detective’.

‘And you move too goddamn quietly for the morning’. Alex rubs at her chest. ‘Are you trying to give me a heart attack?’

The corner of Astra’s mouth twitches, and she shakes her head. ‘I apologise’.

Alex gives Astra a quick glance over, her throat turning very dry as she takes in the fitted dark blue trousers and the white button up shirt Astra’s wearing, the collar left open to expose her collarbones. She swallows, and shakes her head. ‘It’s okay’.

Astra smiles slightly, and says, ‘here’. She hands out a paper bag she’d had tucked under her arm. ‘I brought you a muffin, from my favourite cafe’.

Alex blinks, taking it slowly and clutching at it a little awkwardly. It feels almost like an offering. ‘Umm… thank you?’

‘It occurred to me that you probably haven’t had the chance to explore, so I brought you one’.

Alex can’t help the skeptical expression that crosses her face. ‘Really?’

She hasn’t forgotten what happened the night before, and the odd warning Astra seemed to give her. This seems like a very strange change.

Astra sighs, and something flickers behind her eyes. She looks almost apologetic, and her shoulders lift in a shrug. ‘I… consider it a thank you. For bringing Kara back’.

It feels like there’s more she wants to say, but Alex doesn’t feel like pushing her. Instead she just smiles. ‘Well, thanks. And it was no trouble, really’.

Astra chuckles, that oddly familiar, fond look crossing her face. She falls into step beside Alex as she begins to walk down the road, and says, ‘Kara can be plenty of trouble’.

‘She’s a sweet kid’. Alex tucks the muffin into her bag, wondering if Astra intends to walk her all the way to work. ‘Bright, too’.

‘That she is’. Astra shakes her head slightly. ‘Gets it from her mother’.

Alex hesitates, but she’s curious, and Astra seems to be in a talking mood. ‘Her father isn’t around?’

Astra makes a noncommittal sound. ‘No’.

‘Ah’. Alex nods, and decides to change the subject. ‘Where’d you get that jacket?’

Astra looks a little taken aback. ‘Oh… it’s mine’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘You were a pilot?’

‘Not at first. Nurse. But war is war, and… well, I felt more at home in the air than anywhere else’.

Alex has a vivid image of Astra sitting in the cockpit, aviator goggles pulled down over her eyes, her teeth bared against the wind, hair streaming out behind her.

She coughs, and nods. ‘I can imagine you being quite good at that’.

Astra glances at her. It’s one of those odd, inscrutable glances, and Alex looks away first, keeping her eyes forward as they approach the station. She really doesn’t know what to think of Astra.

They walk in silence until they reach the station, where Astra stops abruptly. Alex turns to face her, raising her eyebrows in question. Astra’s lips press together, as if in indecision, and then she says, ‘Kara’s father died during the War. Alura found out she was pregnant after he left, so I went after him’. Her jaw clenches. ‘It didn’t go as I planned, clearly’.

Alex blinks rapidly, taken aback by the sudden spill of information. She opens her mouth, closes it again, and reaches out to squeeze Astra’s arm. The leather is soft under her hand, but gripping her arm is like squeezing a solid iron bar. ‘I’m sorry’.

Astra stares at her for a long moment, and nods slowly. She covers Alex’s hand briefly with her own, and squeezes back. ‘Thank you’.

She drops her hand, and Alex lets go. Astra takes a step back, and hesitates. Alex half expects her to say something cryptic and oddly threatening again, but instead she just says, ‘enjoy the muffin’.

‘Thanks. Ummm…’ Alex bites her lip, and this really doesn’t feel like a good idea, but then again, she isn’t known for making the best decisions in this place. ‘Maybe you could show me where to get them from, sometime?’

Astra blinks. For a moment, Alex imagines she looks faintly panicked. Then she clears her throat, and nods sharply. ‘Of course’.

‘Wonderful’. Alex smiles, and then glances over her shoulder. ‘I should probably get in’.

‘Oh, of course’. Astra steps back, and any trace of surprise smooths away behind one of those hard to decipher expressions. ‘Have a good day, Alex’.

‘Thanks. You too’.

She watches Astra walk away for a moment, a striking figure against the bright blue day, and sighs softly. What a strange, utterly intriguing woman.

She turns, climbs the steps to the station, and trips as the door swings shut behind her. Lucy glances up at her from where she’s leaning against the front desk, and raises her eyebrows. ‘Run into Astra, did you?’

‘Oh, shut up’.

* * *

 

Alex is half way through her muffin when Lucy plops down opposite her, and says, ‘so, find anything out last night?’

‘I did, actually’. Alex glances up at Lucy, taking in her somewhat ruffled appearance, and says, ‘what happened to you?’

‘Oh, a wild, action-filled chase’.’

Alex snorts. ‘Get him?’

‘Course. Who do you think I am, an amateur?’ Lucy smooths back her windswept hair, and gives her a significant look. ‘So, what’d you find out?’

‘I met the matriarch’.

‘Ah’. Lucy pulls a sympathetic face. ‘How’d that go?’

‘I mean, she’s a little odd, and I see what you mean about the sharp tongue, but she wasn’t too bad’. Alex pops another piece of muffin on her tongue, groaning as the taste fills her mouth, and mumbles, ‘fuck, this is good’.

‘Of course it is’, Lucy rolls her eyes, ‘Astra gave it to you’.

Alex scowls. ‘Do you want to know what I learned, or not?’

Lucy holds her hands up in surrender. ‘Don’t mind me’.

Alex sets down her muffin on the plate, wipes the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, and says, ‘the most interesting thing I learned, I think, is that Lady Tresillian made a new will recently’.

Lucy leans forward, staring at her intently. ‘A new will? That’s interesting’. She frowns. ‘I don’t suppose she told you when she made it?’

‘No’. Alex scoots her chair closer and lifts her hand. ‘But, from what I gathered, Lionel isn’t the main benefactor anymore. He also doesn’t seem to know about it’.

Lucy’s frown deepens. ‘That’s…’ her teeth dig into her lower lip, ‘give me a second’.

‘Sure’. Alex stands, and moves towards the small kitchen. ‘Want some tea?’

‘Yeah, sure’.

When Alex returns, Lucy is munching anxiously on what is _definitely_ a piece of her muffin, and Alex scowls at her. ‘Really?’

‘Sorry. I stress eat’. Lucy leans back in her chair, and says, ‘Mr Treaves was the family lawyer. Had been for decades, even before Lady Tressilian and her husband took Lionel in’.

Alex frowns. ‘So… you think maybe that was why he was killed? Because of the will?’

Lucy sighs heavily. ‘I don’t know. It seems weird, to kill him off when Lady Tressilian is still alive and well’. She snorts. ‘Cat thinks she might outlive everyone out of spite’.

Alex laughs. ‘She seems the type’. She pauses, and then says slowly, ‘there was one other thing. Kara mentioned that Mr Treaves liked to tell stories about his old cases’. She sits down at her desk, sliding Lucy’s cup across to her. ‘And that he told one about a kid and a shooting, the night he died’.

‘Oh, yeah. I remember that’. Lucy pushes her case files away, and leans back in her chair, frowning slightly. ‘I wasn’t paying… too much attention…’

‘Alura?’

Lucy purses her lips. ‘Maybe’.

Alex laughs, but says nothing. Considering her conversation with Kara, she really doesn’t have any ground to stand on when it comes to teasing Lucy. ‘Go on, then’.

Lucy’s frown deepens. ‘He said it was an old case, an open-and-shut one from a long time ago. Something about…’ she sighs, and takes a sip of her tea. She takes a deep breath, scoots closer to her desk, curling her fingers around her mug, and says, ‘a child died. From what he said… a number of children had been playing near a cliff, with bows. Shooting at seagulls, seeing how far they could make an arrow fly off a cliff, that sort of thing. Kid stuff’.

‘And there was an accident?’

‘It seemed that way’. Lucy stares off into the distance for a moment, before she says, ‘I was a little distracted right then, because Alura went out of the room to find Kara, and Astra went out with her. But, I think he said that a child was shot straight through the eye. Died instantly’.

Alex grimaces. ‘That’s a really awful kind of good shot’.

‘Well, that’s the thing. According to Mr Treaves, it was ruled as an unlucky accident. The child wasn’t charged with anything, and moved away to start a new life’. Lucy taps her finger on the mug. ‘But, here comes the creepy part. Not long after the case had been closed, a fisherman found a second arrow floating in the sea around the base of the cliff, that had blood on it. It matched a graze they’d found on the kid’s body. Mr Treaves said that… it had taken him a while, but he’d worked out that the first shot must have missed. The second was the fatal one’.

Alex frowns. ‘Okay wait, I’m lost. Who fired the second one? The child? Someone else?’

‘He wasn’t clear on that’. Lucy frowns. ‘Honestly, this is where it gets kind of weird. Mr. Treaves started talking about how the child - the killer - had a peculiar physical characteristic. That there was something so remarkable about them, that he’d recognise it, no matter how long it had been’.

Alex raises her eyebrows, and says slowly, ‘and you think that's why he was killed? Because he'd recognised the kid?’

Lucy sighs, stirring some sugar into her tea. ‘I don't know, it's just a feeling I have. It was the way he told the story, you know? It was almost pointed. Like a _warning_. But, why?’

Alex pulls her notepad towards her, and says, ‘okay, who've we got then?’

Lucy props her chin in her hand. ‘Well, Astra’s white streak might be the most obvious, but there seem to be a few. Lillian's left handed’. She hesitates, and then says reluctantly, ‘and Alura’s got a scar on the back of her hand’.

Alex’s brow pinches, trying not to get stuck on that lightning streak of hair. ‘How’d she get the scar?’

Lucy shrugs. ‘I’m not sure. She hasn’t told me, but I got the impression that it's from a long time ago, and that it's still kind of a sensitive subject’.

Alex taps her pencil absently on the pad, and says slowly, ‘anyone else?’

‘Cat’s eyes are different colours’.

‘What?’ Alex sits up straighter, staring at her. ‘You sure?’

‘Yeah. Her left is green, her right is hazel’.

Alex blinks rapidly. ‘I’ve literally never noticed that’.

‘Well, we all know you only have eyes for one woman up there’.

Alex flushes slightly. ‘Says _you_ ’.

‘Yes but _I_ didn’t let it blind me to a rather obvious physical characteristic’.

Alex grumbles, takes a sip of her tea, and mutters, ‘fine. Anything else you noticed?’

Lucy purses her lips, and shakes her head slowly. ‘I can’t think of anything? Not that we’ve had an opportunity to examine all of them closely’.

Alex stares down at her list, drawing a small wave underneath the capital of Astra’s name. ‘So so far we’ve got four women, all living in the same place, and one of them apparently killed someone as a kid’.

Lucy sighs heavily. ‘And technically it could be any of them’. She bites her lip, clearly anxious and unsettled, and murmurs, ‘do we know where the twins came from?’

Alex shakes her head slowly. ‘No. I mean, unless you do?’

‘No. It’s not like I can look into it officially’.

Alex swallows tightly. ‘You really think one of them could kill? Intentionally? As a _kid_?’

Lucy stares down into her mug for a moment, and sighs heavily. ‘I think they love each other a lot more than either of us could understand. And you and I have seen what people will do for love’. She rubs at her eyes. ‘If one of them killed someone, I don’t think they’d be Mr Treaves' little murderer. I don’t think it would’ve been premeditated’.

‘So if they killed someone, it’d be on the spot, out of love?’

‘Yeah. Which rules them out of Mr Treaves’ story’.

‘But… not necessarily out of killing him, if it was to protect themselves’.

Lucy sighs, and rubs a hand over the back of her neck. ‘Honestly, the only real way of knowing would be to look into the old case, which we’re definitely not going to get permission to do. Especially considering we don’t even know where this was’.

Alex is quiet for a moment, staring down at her notes, and murmurs, ‘do you think he knew?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Mr Treaves. Do you think he knew that in talking about that case, and basically telling the murderer that he recognised him, he knew he’d end up dead?’

Lucy sighs. ‘I mean, he was pretty drunk by the time I helped him home, but… honestly? He must’ve had some idea. If he really thought one of them was capable of premeditated, malicious murder as a _child_ , he must’ve known what it would lead to’.

‘Maybe he wanted it to lead to an investigation’.

Lucy snorts. ‘Well if that’s the case, he could’ve at least have left some notes lying around’.

Alex bites her lip, and says, ‘you know… I kinda hope we’re wrong. That his death was accidental’.

Lucy gives her a sympathetic smile. ‘Yeah. Me too’.

* * *

 

Alex spends her break wandering along the beach, hoping that the fresh air will wash away the headache that’s starting to brew the longer she thinks about the night before, that house, and whether or not Mr Treaves _did_ die accidentally. She’s troubled by what Lucy said about the twins, perhaps more so because she knows it’s true.

Astra went off to war for her sister. That’s a kind of love that’d be dangerous to underestimate.

But at the same time, she can’t see Astra deliberately killing a harmless old man, even if he did tell a story. She went to war to save her sister’s husband, and Alex herself wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the woman.

She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would commit murder. If she is, Alex doesn’t understand why she saved her from drowning.

She sighs heavily, plopping herself down on the rocks lining the beach, listening to the sounds floating out from the cafe behind her. Her brow furrows in a tight frown as she recalls Astra’s words.

_You’re better than us, Alex. You should’ve stayed away._

Is _this_ why she said that? Because of Mr Treaves? Because of the child who might’ve commited murder?

Why did she have to be so goddamn cryptic?

The sound of wild laughter reaches her, and when Alex turns her head, she’s surprised to see Kara, Lena and Carter running about in the sand, running down towards the waves as they retreat, only to sprint back up to the sand as they surge out again. Lillian and Alura are walking along not far behind them, and Alex ducks her head slightly, tilting her hat down to obscure her face so that they don’t notice her. It’s not that she doesn’t want to talk to them, it’s just that it would feel a bit odd, after she and Lucy have been speculating about which of them might be a murderer for the last few hours.

She remembers Lucy saying that Alura and Lillian got along well despite the assumption that they wouldn’t, but she’d seen no evidence either way until now. They’re walking quite close as the children run circles around them, and there’s a smile playing about Alura’s mouth. She’s wearing a pale cardigan over a colourful sundress, which seems a little odd, considering how hot it is. Even Lillian has tied her jumper around her neck, leaving her arms and legs bare, which seems to exaggerate her height even further.

They seem more at ease than they did the night before, at least.

There’s a padding of feet behind her, and out of the corner of her eye, Alex sees Kal run down the stone steps, leaping off the bottom one to land in a crouch in the sand. Lara descends after him, the long white skirt of her dress fluttering around her calves as she walks, the sun gleaming along the lines of her bare arms. Kara gives a welcoming shout, and Alex glances over in time to see Kal be scooped up into a hug by his cousin. There’s an enthusiastic bark, and a huge, golden haired dog bounds over a dune to land on top of them, practically burying them in the sand.

Alex bites down on her lower lip to stifle a laugh. ‘Krypto!’ Lara quickens her pace, the red roses she’s holding standing out vividly against the sand and the sea. ‘Down!’

She lifts her free hand to wave as she approaches the other two women. Krypto rolls off Kara, and Lena helps Kal to his feet. Krypto sits back on his haunches, places his paws on her shoulders, and starts to lather her face with kisses. Carter laughs, picks Kal up onto his back, and runs off down towards the surf while the younger boy shrieks with laughter.

It’s strange to see them all like this, considering how subdued they all seemed at dinner. As Alex watches, Lara reaches the other two women, and places one of the flowers in one of the buttonholes of Alura’s cardigan, and when the woman looks down, she turns her hand over to flick her finger against the woman’s chin. Alura laughs and shoves at her shoulder, before she moves past her towards Kara, still squealing as Krypto lathers her face with slobber.

Left behind, Lara reaches up to tuck a flower behind Lillian’s ear. Her fingers brush over her cheek before she drops her hand, and Lillian smiles. Alex stares.

Despite the fact that Lillian Luthor is clearly a very beautiful woman, Alex has always thought that she looks more intimidating than anything. She’s never seen her smile before, and it makes the angles of her face seem less stern and imposing.

It’s a transformation that makes her feel oddly sad.

* * *

 

**The next day**

‘You look like shit’.

Alex gives Lucy a filthy look. ‘Thanks’.

‘Rough night?’

‘You could say that’. Alex runs a hand through her hair, aware that it’s a little messier than usual. ‘I never would’ve thought that a dead lawyer would give me more grief than a live one’.

Lucy snorts, and shakes her head. ‘I can relate’. She pinches at the bridge of her nose, and there are dark bags beneath her eyes. ‘The thing about the physical peculiarities is really bothering me’.

‘Any idea which of the big four it was?’

‘No idea’. She rests her head in her hands, and sighs heavily. ‘Though I realised that the scar on the back of Alura’s hand is mirrored on her palm’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘Out of the two of them, Astra strikes me as the one who would get something impaled through her hand, not Alura’.

There’s the pattering, familiar sound of running feet, and Lucy looks up in surprise. ‘She’s early’.

There's a commotion, the sound of Winn yelling, and Kara bursts into the room, followed seconds later by Krypto, who’s fury bulk seems to take up half the room.

Alex is hit with the stinking, overwhelming smell of _fish_ , and she claps her hand over her nose. ‘Kara, what -?!’

‘Kara?’

The alarm in Lucy’s voice makes her pause, and it's only then that she notices that Kara’s face is very red, and that she's crying.

Lucy slides off her chair, and reaches out to touch Kara's shoulder. ‘Kara, what is it?’

Kara sniffles, breathing raggedly, and gasps, ‘its Auntie. She’s…. she’s dead’.

Alex's seen enough death by now that she's come to expect what happens next. Her mind blanks, and Lucy reaches out to pull Kara into her arms. Kara's hands ball into little fists against Lucy's back, and Alex's mind kicks back into gear, trips over itself, and floods with death.

She sees Astra, the lines of her face transformed into a death mask, blood on her skin, a dark line trickling from her mouth, the once enchanting colour of her eyes dimmed and grey in death.

There’s the sound of running feet, and Lara bursts into the room. Her eyes alight on Krypto, and she breathes out sharply. ‘Krypto! Sorry, detectives, I don’t know what got into him -’ she cuts herself off, her eyes widening with alarm when she sees Kara wrapped up in Lucy’s arms. ‘Kara? What’s wrong?’

Kara lifts her head, her face red and wet, her lower lip trembling, and croaks, ‘she’s dead’.

Lara stiffens. Fear makes her eyes brighter, and Alex wonders in a detached sort of way who Lara is afraid Kara means. ‘Who… Kara… who’s dead?’

Alex sucks in a sharp breath, nausea twisting in her stomach, and the door swings open again. Winn stands on the threshold, looking pale and stricken, and he says, ‘Detectives… its Lady Tressilian’.

Alex blinks, the gory images behind her eyes fading, as she takes in these words. 'What?’

‘Lady Tressilian', Winn repeats. 'She’s been murdered!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, Supergirl made Calista Flockhart wear green contacts in S1, as well as a strategically obviously placed green ring. They abandoned both the contacts and the ring in later seasons, leading to her sporting her natural hazel eyes in later seasons...


	4. After the Funeral

**_A year before_ **

_Alex drifts awake in painful bursts of consciousness, usually finding some nurse or other bending over her, talking away a mile a minute while adjusting the tubes running into her. Alex mostly replies to their inquiries in grunts and short replies, made unresponsive both by the pain, and simmering anger._

_This time, when she wakes up, it's a little different. Alex squints at the overhead light, frowning as she takes in the long white coat of the woman tending to her this time, who's tucking away a small red vial into a tray._

_Alex groans. 'How many blood samples do you lot need to take? I feel like I'm being sucked dry by a vampire'._

_'It's standard procedure', the doctor replies, unruffled. 'We need to make sure your levels stay stable, and that the blood isn't contaminated'._

_Alex's head swims as she tries to make out the nametag on the woman's coat._ Cara? _No,_ Lara _. Not a name Alex has ever heard before._

_'I'll take my chances with the infection', she mutters, scowling as the doctor prepares another needle._

_'None of that', the doctor says, her brown face screwing up in as ferocious a frown as Alex's. 'Listen, Jane Doe, I know why you're here. Most of the nurses know why you're here. Astra told me that you had an accident cliff-jumping, but it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that you have none of the wounds resulting from the safety harness malfunctioning. So, do me a favour and keep that mouth shut, before the police come sniffing around this place. I have enough trouble keeping an all-women's hospital open, as it is'._

_'Should've just let me drown', Alex mutters. 'She had no business saving me, that woman'._

_The doctor... Lara... snorts. 'I don't think anyone in her life has ever managed to tell Astra what is or isn't her business. But she brought you here, and that makes you my business, now. And you can make it a lot easier by being quieter'._

_Alex snaps her mouth shut, and then opens it again a few moments later, a quiet word escaping. 'Sorry'._

_Lara waves it off, and busies about giving her the injection. Alex looks out the window as the needle goes in, dully surveying the bright landscape peeking in through the half-open blinds._

_'You know, not everything in life is an accident', the doctor muses, as she rubs alcohol over the needle wound, a few moments later. 'Call me a believer, Jane Doe, but I can't help thinking you were saved for a reason'._

_Alex eyes her skeptically. ‘Uh-huh. And just what exactly do you think is going to stop me from trying again, the moment I walk out of this hospital?'_

_The doctor shrugs, although she's not able to smooth away a displeased frown before Alex notices. 'The truth is, you can do what you like when you're out of here. I can't realistically stop you. All I can tell you is that there are people out there desperately wishing for a second chance, or some miraculous sign that they're not alone, that someone cares whether they live or die, and they'll never get one. And maybe you don't believe it to be a miracle, that Astra managed to spot you through all the rain and fog over the cove that night, and got there in time to save you, but at least you can still pass on the favour'._

_Alex glowers, but she doesn't have much time to think about the statement, or refute it, before the exhaustion and pain takes over, and she's sinking back into unconsciousness._

* * *

 

Alex follows Lucy out of the station at a dead run towards the car, leaving Lara and Winn far behind in their haste. By the time they pull up to the mansion, there's already a crew of reporters and on-lookers crowding the place.

'Police, make way!'

The crowd pays absolutely no attention whatsoever, of course, and it's some time before Lucy and Alex fight through the crowd, to be greeted at the front steps by Astra, who stands there  with a cricket bat in one hand. It might as well be a sword, the way she’s holding it. Beside her is Cat, who looks equally forbidding, despite being inches shorter and holding nothing at all.

'Detectives'. Astra's stern posture relaxes only a little.

'No need for formalities yet, Astra', Lucy says. 'What's up? Winn said there was a murder'.

Astra stares at Lucy, and then at Alex, who stares back, trying to figure out what's going on behind that steely frown.

'You had better come in', Astra says eventually, after trading glances with Cat. 'It's Lady tressillian, as I'm sure you already know'.

* * *

 

Astra leads the way through the mansion as silently as a ghost. Cat is equally tight-lipped, leaving it to the detectives to make conversation.

'Where is everyone?' Lucy asks, echoing the question that's on Alex's mind.

'Lionel's in his study, and Lillian is in her room', Cat answers, 'I think they're still recovering from the shock. Alura took Kara and Lena to a theatre out of town last night, and she stayed in one of the hotels there overnight, because it ran so late. She'll be returning this afternoon'.

Alex and Lucy exchange glances. Before they can ask anything further, Astra comes to an abrupt stop along the hallway, before taking a sharp turn left.

'Here it is', she says, 'Camilla's bedroom'.

Alex takes a sharp intake of breath, as soon as they open the door to the room. Beside her, she can hear Lucy stifling a disgusted exclamation. The sight that awaits them on the bed is gruesome. Lady Camilla Tressillian's face is almost caved in, from the heavy blow that had struck her head. There's blood on the sheets, on the wooden frame, on the floor -

-And on the object thrown at the foot of the bed, a golf club, whose metallic head is now splattered with blood and hair and bits of flesh that Alex really doesn't want to identify.

Beside her, Lucy puts a hand to her stomach. Alex herself feels profoundly glad that she hadn't eaten anything heavy for breakfast.

'One of the maids found her like this, when she came in today morning', Cat says, from the doorway, obviously unwilling to come in and see the body herself. 'Screamed the whole place down, she did'.

Alex is still staring, transfixed, at the body, when Lucy turns around to face the housekeeper.

'Did anything happen last night, that you think might have led to this?' Lucy asks. 'Anything at all?'

Alex turns away from the body just in time to catch a glance passing between Cat and Astra, before Cat answers.

'Well, there was an awful row between Lionel and Camilla in her room, yesterday night after dinner', she says, 'The entire house could hear it, they were both shouting so loud. Camilla was never supportive of the divorce, of course, and it seems Lionel was being a bit boorish yesterday evening, dividing his time between Alura and Lillian. I suppose she was ticked off by it'.

Astra makes an angry sound, though her face remains unreadably stern when Alex throws her a glance.

'What did you hear?' Lucy asks.

'Just a repetition of Camilla saying that she wouldn't have him remarrying, and Lionel saying he would do as he wants', Cat says. 'Eventually, Camilla threatened to write him out of the will, and that's when Lionel seemed to exit her room, slamming the door behind him. I heard him say quite loudly that he was going out to clear his head, and then I heard nothing at all'.

Lucy nods. 'Alright, then who was actually in the house last night?'

'The maids were all in their own rooms by that time', Cat says, 'I believe Lillian and Astra were in their own rooms, and of course Lionel went out after the fight. It was my evening off, so I had just come in from an outing, before the argument began'.

'Outing?' Lucy pounces. 'What outing?'

Alex watches, with some amazement, as the cheeks of the usually composed Cat Grant flush a light red.

'I was with my friend, Olivia', she says.

'Olivia?' Alex sees Lucy's eyebrows fly up in disbelief, for some reason. 'Olivia _Marsdin?'_

'Good grief, I hate small towns', Cat grumbles. 'I'm not sure why who I was with should matter, detective, as this was before the time of the argument'.

'Alright', Lucy says, backing off the subject so hurriedly that Alex suspects she's much more intimidated by the housekeeper than she shows. 'Now, you said that Alura had driven out-of-town to the theatre. Which one?'

Cat gives the name of the theatre.

'That's only an hour's drive away', Alex cuts in. 'Less, at night. I've made that drive before'.

'What's that got to do with anything?' Astra demands, re-entering the conversation.

'Nothing', Lucy says, stalling Alex with a discreet nudge to her ribs. 'Now for the elephant in the room, or in this case the murder weapon. Whose golf club is that, on the floor?'

Cat gives it a cursory glance, just as if it isn't the most important thing in the room, aside from the dead woman's body.

'It's Lionel's, of course', she says. 'His initials are carved on the handle, see? _L.L._ But, you can't seriously think-'

Lucy sighs. 'I don't think anything, Cat. I’m just trying to find out what the bloody hell happened'.

That does nothing to lessen the wariness on Cat and Astra's faces, and Alex doesn't blame them.

'We still need to take statements', she says.

'There's something else you need to know', Cat says. 'Camilla's health was precarious, of course. We had a bell set up in her room, that she could ring through the night for her maid, Eve. Today, we found poor Eve in her room, drugged. We sent for the doctor, of course, and he recommended that she be taken to the hospital immediately. He seems to think it’s quite serious'.

'I was wrong, it gets worse', Lucy says, dryly. 'Who had access to the girl's room yesterday?'

'Just about everyone, at one point or another', Cat says, shrugging. 'We don't keep the doors locked, around here'.

'Helpful', Lucy murmurs. 'Well, we'll have to pay a visit to the hospital this afternoon, then'.

She glances again at the bloody club on the floor.

'But, first, I think we had better talk to Mr. Luthor'.

* * *

 

Lionel Luthor invites them into his study with his usual courtesy, and answers their opening questions with adroitness. Alex sees him visibly waver, though, when Lucy segues into details regarding the night of the murder, bringing a notepad out of her briefcase as she does so.

'I suppose this is a matter of routine', he says, eyeing the notepad with apprehension. 'You'll be questioning everyone in the house?'

'Well, yes', Lucy says, looking awkward. 'But, I hope you understand that there are extenuating circumstances in your case'.

The man looks so confused that, if he's actually acting, Alex thinks he has a career in the West End rather than in sports. 'Pardon me?'

'Mr. Luthor, you had a row with your hostess last night, at the end of which she threatened to cut you out of your will', Lucy says. 'Today, she was found dead, with your golf club lying by her bedside in a bloody mess. Do you understand how this looks?'

Lionel scrubs a hand over his face, which betrays no emotion, but Alex's catches how he swallows slightly.

'There must be some mistake', he says. 'I did have an argument with Camilla, yes, but it's hardly grounds for being accused of murder. I simply lost my temper, and went outside to calm down'.

'Where did you go?' Lucy asks.

'Across the cove, to town', Lionel says. 'I took the ferry'.

Alex and Lucy share a glance.

'What did you do in town?'

'Well, I was still feeling out of sorts', Lionel says. 'I thought I'd visit Lillian's friend, Lara, at her hotel, and see if she was up for a game of cards or two. It took me some time to find her, but we spent the rest of the night at the pool hall'.

'And when did you return?'

Lionel looks upward, screwing up his face. 'Around two in the morning, I think. The ferry was closed for the night by then, so Lara had to drive me back the long way around'.

Alex, silently observing the two speakers, sees Lucy frown down at her notepad, and scribble some numbers down, before looking back up at Lionel. 'Mr. Luthor, that still leaves you plenty of time before you left for the ferry, to commit the murder in'.

The man looks politely bewildered.

'You really think I killed Camilla?' he asks. 'Why, for the money? Ms. Lane, I am a very wealthy man in my own right. My tennis sponsorships are a matter of public record'.

'We're not accusing you of anything, sir', Lucy says, 'We're just telling you how things look right now. And right now, things look very bad for you'.

Understatement, Alex thinks to herself, as Lionel Luthor scrubs slightly shaky fingers through his hair.

'What, then?' he asks.

'We're going to be taking more statements', Lucy says. 'We're not making any arrests today, officially speaking. However, we _are_ unofficially requesting that you keep to the house for now, and put off any upcoming travel plans'.

'Well', Lionel says, taking a deep breath, 'My next tournament doesn't start for a couple of months. I suppose I can follow your request'.

Alex sees a flicker of relief in Lucy's eyes, as she closes up the interview, and prepares to take their leave. Clearly, she hadn't been as confident as she had sounded, that Lionel would accede to the request.

'Wonder why Cat dislikes him so much', Alex murmurs, as they close the study door on their way out. 'Seems pretty reasonable to me'.

Lucy shrugs. 'I'm pretty sure that the number of men Cat approves of doesn't make it past single digits'.

As they prepare to head down, Winn comes rushing up the stairs towards them, gingerly holding something with a gloved hand.

'Ma'am's!' he says, pulling them discreetly into another room, 'You need to take a look at this'.

Alex and Lucy survey the item in the plastic bag. It's a men's suit in dark blue, all rumpled up. Something seems to have spilled all over the sleeves and breast, staining it darker in places.

'Is that-' Lucy falters, before her voice comes back, steadier. 'Is that blood?'

Winn nods, face ashen.

'I found it bunched up and shoved into the closet downstairs, when I was searching the house', he says, 'Cat tells me it belongs to Mr. Luthor'.

'Oh god', Lucy mutters, shaking her head. 'Let's get it to the forensics office right away. The other statements can wait'.

A hint of an unamused smile steals over her face, as she starts back down the stairs.

'This is not what you were expecting when you took a policing job in a small seaside town, is it, Danvers?'

Alex shrugs as she leads the way down, where Cat and Astra and the rest of household are no doubt waiting.

'You'd be surprised, Lane'.

* * *

 

The days following the murder, Alex and Lucy settle into the hectic schedule that often follows such cases, making inquiries, dodging reporters, and trying to maintain some semblance of regular communication between the station and the Yard. For her part, Alex finds that she rather enjoys it, after a year of dull deskwork.

'I missed this', she comments one day, walking into the station while waving a freshly signed statement about. 'The thrill of the chase, and all that'.

'Speak for yourself', Lucy grumbles, slamming the phone down after what must clearly have been a harrowing conversation.

Alex winces at the clang of the receiver slamming into place.

'That bad?'

'The Yard is on my case about getting an arrest', Lucy says, grimacing. 'It's not like Lionel Luthor is some nobody off the streets that I can just lock up. I tried to tell them that putting in for a warrant now would be jumping the gun, but of course they're not listening'.

Alex nods sympathetically.

'I’m afraid I haven’t got much useful news', she says, 'I was just down at the dock, making inquiries. Lionel was definitely telling the truth about taking the ferry across the cove at 10.30pm. The captain remembers ferrying him across, but doesn’t remember taking him back. That checks in with Lara driving him back'.

'That still gives him plenty of time to commit the murder before 10.30, which would fit in with the time of death that the coroner’s office gave us', Lucy says, rubbing her eyes tiredly. 'We won’t be able to prove in court that it was him, though'.

'It it was him', Alex murmurs.

Lucy raises an eyebrow at her.

'You’ve been saying that a lot recently', she says. 'What’s gotten into you?'

'It’s just, I’ve been looking at the crime scene photos that came back from forensics', Alex says, walking over to her desk and rifling through the paperwork for the photos.

She spreads them out for Lucy to study. 'Look at how the bed is wedged right up against the wall on one side, and against the window on the adjacent side. There really isn’t much room to maneuver. Lady Tressillian was right in the middle of the bed, too. It would’ve been really awkward for a right-handed person to swing at her head like that’.

'Difficult, but it can still be managed', Lucy says.

‘With enough force for the blow to cave her head in?'

Lucy looks reluctant to concede the point.

'Even if you have a point there, Lillian is the only left-handed person in the house', she says.

'So, we should-' Alex starts.

'No, you don’t understand', Lucy cuts in. 'Alex, when Lionel divorced Lillian, apparently she was so furious about it that she refused to take a penny from him in the settlement. She didn’t even want the house they shared. If Lady Tressillian hadn’t taken her in, and given her a monthly allowance, she’d have been out on the streets. Now that she’s dead, Lillian’s got nowhere to go, unless she finally accepts Lionel’s offer, see? So, she’s the last person who’d benefit from killing off the old woman'.

'Oh'. Alex bounces on her heels. 'Damn. Then I’m all out of leads'.

'Well, we’ve still got the maid, but she hasn’t woken up yet', Lucy says, her brows furrowed. 'It’s been three days. Whatever she was drugged with must’ve been strong'.

Alex rubs her eyes.

'The latest report says she’s stable, at least', she says. 'That’s as much good news as we can hope for, I think'.

She catches Lucy staring up at the clock, as it strikes one. Alex feels a pang of sympathy as her face perceptively falls, when the minute passes, and Kara’s footsteps don’t sound at the station door.

'That’s three days in a row', Lucy says. 'I hope everything’s alright, up at the mansion'.

'I’m sure they’re just worried’.

'Hmm'. Lucy sounds unconvinced. 'It’s just, I usually bump in Alura at the market, most nights, and she wasn’t there yesterday or the day before. They said she hasn’t been to the bakery, either'.

'You’re worried she’s avoiding you?' Alex asks.

Lucy twitches, as if the question had hit too close to home.

'I’m just worried about her', she says. 'If there’s a murderer about, she might be in danger'.

'Right', Alex says, debating whether Lucy realizes that Alura herself is in fact a suspect, or if she’s just trying very hard to ignore that.

Not for the first time, she wonders whether Lucy’s feelings towards the woman are more than just a simple crush, as she had first thought.

'There’s something else', Lucy says, frowning. 'You know how I said Mr. Treaves’ death was ruled as a natural one by the coroner?'

Alex stands up straighter. 'Yes?'

'Well, I was suspicious about it, like I said', Lucy says, 'I asked them to take another look at the samples they took from his body, and they called back with the results today. They’re not sure, what with all the time passed, but it looks like digitalin might have been introduced into his system, to induce the heart attack'.

'Damn'. Alex taps her hands on the desk. 'So, the old lady wasn’t talking nonsense, after all. Someone wanted to make sure that the lawyer wouldn’t survive his climb'.

'It looks like the digitalin was stolen from his own heart medication', Lucy says. 'And, just about any of them could have slipped out after the party, and waylaid Mr.Treaves up the stairs. We’re dealing with someone both dangerous and clever, here'.

'This case just keeps getting more complicated', Alex grumbles, rounding her desk and sliding heavily into the chair. 'I don’t even know whose murder we’re investigating, anymore. Is it Lady Tressillian’s, or Mr. Treaves’? Or, is it the little child who was murdered all those years ago?'

'Maybe it’s another murder entirely', Lucy says, and then looks surprised at the words that had exited her mouth.

Alex stares at her. 'Why would you say that?'

'I don’t know', Lucy admits. 'It’s just, I have a weird feeling about this case. It feels like... like it’s not over yet, you know?'

'No', Alex says, bemused. 'I don’t know, actually'.

Lucy groans. 'Nevermind. I’ve been cooped up in here almost all week. I’m going to go home, make myself some real food for once, and see if things look any clearer tomorrow morning'.

'Smart idea', Alex murmurs, closing the file of paperwork that she’d been rifling through, and opening up instead the guidebook that the ferry captain had given her. 'I’ll close up'.

Lucy eyes the guidebook doubtfully. 'You doing some sightseeing?'

'No, I’m looking up the ferry times for the week', Alex says, flipping through the guidebook. 'Tomorrow, I’m going to pay a visit across the cove to Lara, and see if I can find anything more about Lionel’s whereabouts on the night of the murder'.

* * *

 

**The next day**

Alex steps gingerly in the shifting beach sand, already regretting her decision to make the excursion in slacks, rather than beach shorts. She doesn’t have to scout the area for long before locating Lara’s party, on account of Krypto barking loudly and running around the group. Alex scans them for some time - Lara sunbathing on a rock, Kara and Kal playing nearby, Alura seemingly absorbed in a book, and Lillian and Cat walking along the shore in the distance - before she decides to approach them.

It’s Kara who spots her first.

'Alex!' she calls out, looking up and waving at Alex with a brilliant smile, before going right back to chattering away at Kal.

Alex nods at the girl, but walks over to Lara instead. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Alura looking up momentarily, before going back to her book, her shoulders hunching up as if she’s drawing into herself.

'Oh, hello', Lara says, sitting up on her elbows as Alex nears. 'I was wondering when you’ll be coming by to talk to me'.

'You don’t stay up at the mansion, do you?' Alex asks. 'Kara says you’re up there often for dinner, though'.

'No, I don’t stay there', Lara agrees. 'I stay in one of the hotels over the cove, when I come down for the summer. Not that that’s often, mind you. Usually, I’m too busy at the hospital'.

Alex nods, and sits down next to her, as the woman pats the rock.

'It was you, wasn’t it?' she asks. 'The doctor who treated me, I mean'.

She hadn’t recognized her before, had barely seen the woman when she wasn’t half-dying, but there’s no mistaking her now.

'Yes, I was wondering when you’d remember', Lara says. 'Astra didn’t quite trust how they’d treat you up at the general hospital, so she brought you to me, instead'.

Alex nods, and glances back at the children playing together.

'Lena’s not with them today, I see', she says.

Lara’s brow furrows. 'Lionel’s been keeping her as close to him as he can, so she hasn’t left the house much this week'.

'He’s probably worried about something happening to her', Alex says, 'what with the murder and everything'.

'Of course', Lara says, sounding distant. 'Well, I suppose Alura would keep a tighter leash on Kara too, if she could manage it, and Cat’s already packed Carter off to stay with her friend Olivia. Worried people make poor decisions'.

Alex nods absently, noticing that the children themselves don’t look worried at all. Kal is now sticking his sand-covered hands out to Kara, who’s inspecting them with ferocious concentration.

'-member what the book said?' she’s saying. 'It was your little finger, I think. If it’s short, you’re selfish'.

Alex glances back at Lara, questioningly.

'Oh, it’s just some silly nonsense they found in a book about palm reading', Lara says, in an undertone. 'It keeps their mind away from the murder, you know?’

Her attention seems to be less on the children, at the moment, and more on the shoreline. Alex follows her line of sight, to the figures of Lillian and Cat in the distance. Cat seems to be doing the lion’s share of the talking, with her usual air of authority. Lillian mostly seems to be nodding and giving brief answers. Once again, it strikes Alex that there’s something cold and closed off about the woman. Unapproachable, even. Alex looks back at Lara, wondering what’s making her brows furrow like that, when she usually seems so relaxed.

'You’ve got it the wrong way around', Kal says, in the background. 'The book said that if you’ve got a long little finger, you’re selfish'.

'You know', Lara says suddenly, 'The police came looking for you, when you were in my hospital'.

Alex stares at her, suddenly feeling an old fear clamp down on her. Meanwhile, Kara is glaring at Kal indignantly.

'That’s not true!' she’s saying. 'Lena’s got long little fingers, and she’s not selfish!'

'What?' Alex asks, turning away from them to Lara, feeling numb. 'What did you... I mean, what did they ask?'

'The guy we had at the station before Lucy took over, Sam, he was a real bastard', Lara says. 'He came sniffing by the hospital when you were admitted, said he’d heard some reports that your fall wasn’t an accident. You know how hard they come down on suicide, in this country'.

Alex nods, feeling phantom tendrils of fear creep up. It's been a year. She had thought it was all behind her, somehow.

Meanwhile, the children are still bickering.

'I didn't say I believed it!' Kal says, hurriedly. 'I mean, Lena says her father's got a short little finger on one hand and a long one on the other, so it's got to be nonsense, see?'

That seems to calm Kara down, but Alex's entire attention is on Lara at this point, who looks surprised at her alarm.

'You don't have to look so worried', she says. 'Astra lied straight to his face about it, and I think she made a call to the Yard, too, because he didn't come around again'.

Alex lets out a shaky breath, and turns back to the sea.

'Thanks', she says. 'For keeping quiet about it too, I mean'.

'I'm a doctor', Lara says, as if that should end the discussion. 'I'm glad to see you're doing better now'.

Just then, Krypton runs by them again. Alex wrinkles her nose at the pungent smell that follows him, the same smell that had pervaded the station when he had run in there.

'Settle down, Krypto!' Lara calls out, and sighs when that has no effect on the dog. 'I'll have to give him a proper bath tonight. He must have rolled on some dead fish on the beach'. - She screws up her face - 'You know what's odd? I smelt that exact stink in the poolhall, when I was there last. I'll have to talk to the management about their upkeep'.

Alex frowns. Something about that nags for her attention, but she's soon distracted by Lara's next question.

'What did you really come here for find me for, detective?'

'Mr. Luthor said he was in town with you on the night of the murder', Alex says.

'Yes, he did bump into me at the hotel lobby', Lara says, 'We spent some hours at the pool hall after that, but I was under the impression that the murder was committed before then'.

'He says he had a bit of trouble finding you that night', Alex says.

'Can't see why. I was at the hotel all day'.

'You sure?' Alex asks.

Lara pulls her sunglasses down to her nose with one finger, and stares at Alex above them.

'Let me preempt what you're skating around', she says, 'You think I could have gone all the way across the cove to the mansion, snuffed out Lady Tressillian, and driven back to the hotel, without anyone spotting me along the way?'

Alex frowns. 'You think that's what I was getting at?'

'What else?' Lara asks.

Alex shrugs, and ignores the question. 'How long did you stay with Mr. Luthor?'

'Well, by the time we exited the pool hall, the ferry was closed', Lara says. 'There was no way I was putting him up in my suite, so I drove him back to the mansion. Dropped him off around 2.20, I think'.

'Alright', Alex says, and then, 'You don't like him much, do you?'

Lara smiles wryly. 'What gave it away? It doesn't matter how I feel about the man. I stay on cordial terms with him for the sake of the family. Now, why are you so concerned about this?'

'I don't know', Alex admits, turning back to study the sea.

She feels like there's something they're missing, and maybe getting all the facts straight might point out what it is. Her gaze strays to Alura again, and Alex can't help the pangs of sympathy that rise up, both for the woman, and for Lucy too. She might have thought her crush on Astra was useless at times, but this, Alex realizes, is the real hopeless situation.

Lara catches the direction of her stare.

'Don't misunderstand', she murmurs. 'She's scared, more than anything. Alura has always been... well, anxious. This murder, it would have anyone on edge'.

'Of course', Alex says. 'Well, I had better be going'.

She gets up, wondering what - if anything - she knows now, that she didn't already know before this interview.

'You're wrong, you know,’ Lara says, as she slips her sunglasses back over her eyes.

Alex pauses. 'What?'

'You think Lionel killed his hostess for her money', Lara says. 'I may dislike the man, but you're dead wrong. He'd never do something like that'.

And with that, she leans back against the rock, and returns to watching the sea and Lillian, just as if Alex has been entirely forgotten.

* * *

 

Lucy is waiting for Alex, when she gets back to the station.

'I thought your shift ended an hour ago', Alex says, taken aback.

'It did', Lucy says. 'But, something new came in, and I think we need to get on this immediately'.

'What is it?'

'The maid woke up', Lucy says. 'I thought I'd better hear what she had to say immediately, so I drove up to the hospital without waiting for you, sorry. Here's her statement'.

She pushes a signed sheet of paper towards Alex, who glances at it momentarily, then back up at Lucy.

'What's in it? What's so important?'

'She saw Lionel', Lucy says.

Alex gapes. 'She saw him commit the murder?'

'No', Lucy says. 'What I mean is, apparently Lady Tressillian rang the bell for the girl, sometime after 10.20 in the night. Eve rushed out to see what she wanted, and she saw Lionel Luthor descend the stairs just then, heading outside. Then, she went into the lady room's and apparently the old woman was still alive then, although she seemed confused as to what she'd called the girl in for. That was around 10.25'.

'She actually saw him leave the house at 10.20? But, that means-' Alex's mind works furiously, trying to fit this new information into what they already know. 'The ferry captain said they took him across the cove at 10.30, and it takes a few minutes to get to the dock'.

'So Lionel wasn't in the house, and probably wasn’t even on this side of the town, when the murder was committed', Lucy finishes. 'That's as airtight an alibi as it gets'.

'Jesus', Alex murmurs, 'That means-'

'There's more', Lucy says. 'Eve saw Lionel go out with a gray suit. The suit we found, the bloody one, was blue, remember?'

She stares at Alex, and Alex stares back at her, knowing that the anxiety she can see in Lucy's expression is reflected back in hers. If Lionel Luthor is not the murderer, then somebody else in the house is.

And it's their job to bring them in, whoever they are.

'Well, we'd better go and tell Lionel the good news', Lucy says, walking back to her desk, and putting her coat on. 'Looks like he's not our prime suspect, anymore'.

* * *

 

'You're a very lucky man, Mr. Luthor', Lucy says, when they've informed Lionel that his house arrest is over. 'If the maid hadn't seen you-'

Lionel nods, still looking shell-shocked.

'I'm aware', he murmurs. 'Good grief. I suppose we still don't know who did it'.

'We're working on some leads', Lucy says, exchanging glances with Alex, who nods at the man.

'Is your fiancée around?' she asks him, bringing up the question that Lucy is obviously restraining herself from asking.

'No', Lionel says. 'I'm afraid she's still in town visiting Lara, with Lillian and Cat. I had better call her up and tell her the good news, now'.

'Right', Alex says, feeling bad for Lucy, as her face falls. 'Well, we'd better be going'.

She leads the way out of the house, her partner following listlessly behind. Alex pokes her, and Lucy jumps and glares.

'Hey!'

'At least it got you out of that funk', Alex says. 'Where to now? Looks like we're going to have to go back to the drawing board'.

Lucy seems to consider the question, as they walk. 'Have you heard anything about that new will you were talking about?'

'No one seems to know about it', Alex says. 'I called up the lawyers, but they'd never heard from Lady Tressillian about drafting a new will. Maybe she meant to make a new one, but never got around to it'.

Lucy sighs. 'Then, I guess we'll just have to think of something else'.

'Have you found out if anyone else in the mansion is left-handed?' Alex asks.

'There's still just Lillian', Lucy says. 'But, like I said, she's still the only one with a direct motive to not kill Lady Tressillian'.

'She wasn't left anything in the will?'

'The old lady did leave her a little bit of jewellery, apparently', Lucy says. 'Nothing else, though'.

'Well, there's something else bothering me', Alex says. 'The way the weapon was placed at the scene, and how we found the bloody suit so easily... if the jacket wasn't real, what if the weapon wasn't the real one, either?'

Lucy eyes her doubtfully. 'What are you saying?'

'I mean, it's just conveniently there, isn't it?' Alex says. 'So, we won't be going to the trouble of looking anywhere else for it. Bit fishy, don't you think?'

Lucy sniffs. 'I think _you_ smell a little fishy. What were you doing down at the beach, rolling in the seaweed?'

Alex persists. 'I'm just saying, it's worth investigating'.

'Alright', Lucy sighs. 'Maybe we should ask to do a second investigation of the mansion, just to be sure'.

They stop by a sandwich shop along the way back to the station, to catch a much-belated lunch. The rest of the drive back, though, is conducted in silence, with both women wrapped in their own thoughts over the new developments in the case. When she gets out of the car at the end of the ride, Alex notices a familiar figure standing by the station door, looking around apprehensively.

'Alura!' Lucy calls out, from behind Alex, and their visitor starts.

'Hello', she says, as they near, shifting her bag from one hand to the other. 'Winn said you wouldn't be long, so I thought I'd wait for you'.

Alex raises an eyebrow at Lucy, who's staring straight ahead at Alura instead.

'Lionel is off house arrest', Lucy blurts out. 'We were just at the mansion'.

'I know', Alura says, and smiles faintly. 'He rang me up at Lara's hotel. I came over here as soon as I heard'.

'Right', Lucy looks unsure of what to say next, so Alex climbs ahead of the two up the stairs, to give them some privacy without actually being out of hearing.

'Thank you', Alura says, although Alex hears a strange disconnect between the words and her tone.

'Just doing our job', Lucy replies.

She glares pointedly at Alex over Alura's shoulder, until Alex sticks her tongue out and goes back into the situation. She skulks around her desk, bursting with curiosity, but unable to make out the low murmurs outside.

A few minutes later, Lucy enters, looking a little flushed. Alex looks questioningly at her.

'She, um, she asked me on a picnic tomorrow', Lucy says. 'She says that, um, Kara misses me'.

'Uh-huh, I'm sure it was Kara doing the missing', Alex says, fighting a smile, as she returns to the paperwork on her desk.

'I mean, it's a good way to keep an eye on the family', Lucy says, sounding defensive.

'Uh-huh', Alex repeats. 'Well, I'm just glad she's not avoiding you anymore'.

She still doesn't know what Lucy plans to do, exactly, with her crush on a woman already engaged to someone else, let alone a man. But, something about the way Alura's face had lit up as soon as she'd seen Lucy get out of the car, tells Alex that maybe Lucy's feelings are not as hopeless as she'd initially thought.

'Speaking of avoidance', Lucy says, 'what's up with Astra? I used to bump into her pretty regularly up in town, but she hasn't been around much, lately'.

Alex's jaw clenches.

'Don't know', she says shortly, and sets about to making some corrections on the report in front of her. 'I expect she's busy'.

She's aware of Lucy staring at her, but Alex stares resolutely down at the paperwork, not at all inclined to talk.

* * *

 

When she had first made the decision to return to the city, Alex had rented out the same cottage facing the woods that she had the year before. It's off the beaten path, and quiet, except for the sounds echoing from the woods, and the occasional roar of the trains passing by. She had liked the solitude of it before, but Alex feels a sense of creeping unease now, when she returns to it after work the next evening. Suddenly, renting a flat in the loud and crowded town doesn't seem like such a bad idea, after all.

The night shift had chivvied her and Lucy off to their respective homes to sleep, but Alex doesn't really feel like sleeping, any more than she suspects Lucy does. Instead, she glances out the window, at the still-bright sky, and kneels to remove a box from under her bed. Unlocking it with a key from the string around her belt, Alex carefully takes out the pistol cradled inside the box. She blows on it, and gently taps the top, waiting for the hollow ring of the metal to echo in the silent bedroom. Empty, just as she had left it almost six months ago, when she had last bothered to practice with the thing.

J'onn had given her the pistol years ago, when he had first recommended her to the profession, but Alex has never before had any need to use it. The standard issue truncheon has been enough, until now. She's kept it anyhow, albeit under lock and key, but not until this case has she actually felt like she might really need to make use of it.

Alex fishes out the box of wax bullets that she bought on her last excursion to the town, and paces out a length of area in the clearing just before the woods start. The trees facing the clearing already have targets scratched into their trunks, possibly from the hunters who frequent the area in the fall. Alex uses them to practise for the better part of the an hour, before the silence is interrupted by another figure approaching her from the side.

Alex sneaks one quick glance sideways, catching silver-streaked brown hair swaying in the breeze, and sucks in a shaky breath, as she refocuses on her target. She reloads, and fires another set of rounds towards the trees, as her visitor takes a seat on a tree stump, to watch Alex's attempts with apparent avidity.

'So, you've released Lionel', Astra says, a few minutes into her silent observation.

Her gaze is roving curiously between Alex and trees as she speaks, when Alex sneaks a quick glance at her, but it's hard to tell what she's actually thinking about. Alex just grunts, and reloads the pistol again, getting ready to fire another shot.

'They tell me you've been all over town, and even to the ferry, hunting for other leads', Astra continues, as if the sound is encouragement enough. 'Explains why I haven't seen you around, lately'.

'It's not like you've remembered that I exist, either', Alex says, glowering as she recalls how Astra has been mysteriously absent every time she's had occasion to visit the mansion.

She bites her lips as soon as the words escape, because her voice comes out petulant and rather sad, rather than the defiant tone that she'd been going for.

'I'm sorry', Astra says, sounding as if she really does mean it. 'I'm not in an easy position, here'.

Alex purses her lips, and adjusts her stance. 'Right'.

Two more shots, and then Astra speaks again.

'They're saying that you don't even think that the club found at the scene was the murder weapon'.

Alex clenches her jaw to stop giving away her surprise, and grips her pistol harder, as it threatens to wobble.

'Inquiries are being made', she says. It's a damnably familiar phase to her now, after repeating it so many times over the past week.

Lucy still seems to prefer to keep it under wraps that they're likely looking for a left-handed suspect, with a weapon to match. The ace up their sleeve, she calls it, and Alex is inclined to agree with her strategy, given what little else they've managed to find out so far.

'Ah, there's your canned reply again', Astra says, frowning when Alex turns to really look at her.

She's wearing a short-sleeved dress this time, with her hair hanging loose around her face. It waves slightly in the breeze, and Alex notices that there are faded scars sneaking up the uncovered skin of her arms, and above the collar of her dress. She can't help sneaking another glance away from the trees, to study them.

Astra stares back at her, eyebrows raising as she catches Alex staring for too long. Alex turns back to her target, blushing. Another shot. This one almost misses the tree entirely, and she sucks in a frustrated breath.

'You were doing very well until now', Astra comments. 'For a police officer, that is'.

There's a faintly challenging smile on her face, when Alex glances at her next.

'Oh, I was, was I?' Alex asks. 'I just might teach you a thing or two, you know?’

'Will you, now?'

Astra gets up from the stump and wanders lazily over. Alex holds her breath as the woman reaches her. Astra's arms reach to cover the pistol that Alex is already holding, as her body curls around Alex's from behind.

'Let's find out, shall we?'

'Right', Alex says, her face heating up. 'We should probably move a little closer to the tree, though, to make it ea-'

Astra ignores that, and adjusts her stance as she's wrapped around Alex. Her finger steadies around the trigger, and she fires.

'Careful!' Alex yelps. 'You could hit one of the-'

She trails off, as the shot lands dead center on the target hewn into the wood. Another one follows, landing on the circle carved above it.

'I've always been a good shot', Astra says, as she detaches herself from around Alex. 'It's just math, really, of a sort. Just like flying'.

'Right', Alex says, dread curling up in her stomach.

She remembers the defiant faith that Lucy has in Alura, and finds that she can really sympathize with that, right now. Logic states that she should consider Astra a suspect. Every other part of her, though, is already hoping and scheming to find some loophole that keeps the woman out of the entire matter.

Astra's mouth turns downwards, and her hand reaches out to shift hair away from Alex's face, and tilt up her jaw. 'Alex, what is it? You froze up and went silent as the grave, all of a sudden'.

Alex winces at the choice of words, and looks away.

'I just remembered something', she says. 'I need to go back down to the station, and place a call to J'onn. He gets worried, if he doesn't hear from me every week'.

Astra's hands are on her hips, now. 'And you've just mysteriously forgotten about this until now?'

'Astra', Alex murmurs, feeling worn out all of a sudden. 'I'm not in an easier position than you over this case. You know that'.

Astra looks coldly furious, when she chances another look at her, and maybe a little hurt. Her shoulders are stiff, and bunched up, like the hackles on a dog.

'Of course', she says, stiffly. 'I'll be leaving, then'.

Alex purses her lips, unsure whether it's misery or frustration that she's about to combust from. Astra just glares at her, before stalking away, not through the path that leads to town, but back through the woods.

Alex returns to her own cottage, slamming the door shut behind her, and muttering about mysterious women and her own bloody bad luck with them.

* * *

 

A few days later, Alex is manning the station while Lucy and Winn are out on a lunch run, when Lionel Luthor drops by, holding on to his daughter with one hand, and clutching a sheaf of papers with the other.

'Mr. Luthor!' Alex gets up quickly, rounding her desk as the man passes the papers to her.

'Officer Schott told me to sign these release forms and drop them off', he says. 'I'm heading out to town, so I thought I'd pass by here on the way'.

'Right', Alex says, giving them a passing glance for completeness. 'Right, well, these look in order. I have to send them off the Yard for a once-over, with this case being what it is, but there shouldn't be any problem'.

The man nods with all the self-assurance of someone with the authority to make sure there indeed won't be a problem. Beside him, Alex can see his daughter silently watching them, muted curiosity on her face. Not for the first time, Alex wonders at how quiet Lena is, compared to her exuberant playmates.

'Right, then', Alex says, when the silence stretches too long. 'I am sorry for the inconvenience. I'm sure the house arrest wasn't easy for you, and-'

She trails off, realizing that it's a bit counterproductive to apologize to the man for his arrest, no matter how gracious he's been, when they had just been doing their jobs.

'You did what you had to do', Lionel finishes for her, with an amiable nod. 'Although, I have to say, I'm quite glad that Eve saw me go out just in time. I admit, I don't fancy hard time in the lam, let alone having to miss my tournament'.

'Right', Alex murmurs, remembering that the man is due to compete in the series beginning the next month. 'Well, I'm glad to find you so understanding'.

Lionel raises his eyebrows, looking faintly puzzled. 'Of course. At least the house arrest gave me a chance to spend more time with my family, before I'm off for the tour. Isn't that right, sweetheart?'

He reaches down, and ruffles Lena's hair. The girl squirms, still not cracking a smile.

'I want to go see Kara', she mumbles. 'And Kal'.

'Alright, off you go', Lionel says, indulgently, and Lena runs off like a shot, out through the door before Alex can blink.

'I suppose she missed her friends', Lionel comments, before turning back to Alex. 'I'll admit, I've kept her on a short lease ever since Camilla... well. You can never be too safe with children, you know?'

'Right', Alex says again, although she doesn't know, of course. 'We're doing our best to catch whoever is responsible for this'.

'Oh, I'm sure', Lionel says. 'I never meant to sound as if I was..'.

He trails off, looking stymied, before sticking his hands in his pockets, and smiling again. 'Well, enough about that bad business. Now that Lena's run off, I suppose I should be getting about, too. I need to be in town and back before it gets dark. I ordered Alura the new golf clubs she needed, you see, and they should be arriving this afternoon'.

'Of course'. Alex nods absentmindedly, as she files away the forms to hand over to Lucy later. She extends the conversation out of sheer politeness. 'Yes, I remember her mentioning something about needing them made specially, when I came over for dinner'.

'Oh yes', Lionel says, as he buttons his coat and puts his hat back on. 'She's left-handed, you know, and the shops in town don't have clubs that suit her, so I have to order them in from London. Worth the trouble, though. It's one of the few sports she enjoys, and I know she was miserable, being shut out of the links for the past two weeks'.

Alex freezes, and turns around, just as the man is preparing to walk out the door.

'But, Alura is right-handed', she says.

She's seen the woman sign the statement that Winn had got from her, not to mention that Alura clearly favours her right hand in day-to-day interactions, on every occasion that Alex can remember.

'Oh, that', Lionel says, pausing at the door, and looking back at her curiously. 'No, that has to do with her mother. Alura was born left-handed, you see, and her mother forced her into right-handedness. You know how some families can be superstitious, about that sort of thing. It never fully took, though. Poor dear, it seems she lost her set of clubs at the links a few weeks ago, and she just can't take a decent swing with my right-handed ones'.

'I see', Alex murmurs.

Lionel eyes her curiously again, before he glances down at his watch, alarm taking over his face.

'Well, I'd better get on, before the shop closes up'.

With that, he tips his hat to her, and strides out the door, leaving Alex frowning after him.

She's still staring at the door, mouth slightly open as her brain works through this new information, when it slams open again and Lucy rushes in, Winn in tow.

'You two were supposed to be back an hour ago', Alex says, as they rush by her, before her distracted brain realizes that they both look feverishly excited, and out of breath.

'The ferry was in, so we thought we'd take it across the cove into town'. Lucy explains, all in a rush. 'They've opened this new shop there, it sells the best sandwiches, and... oh, forget that! Well, we got them, see, and we thought we'd drop by the law firm that Mr. Treaves used to work for, and see if we could find out anything new about the will'.

'We did!' Winn jumps in, as if he can't control himself any longer. 'The old lady didn't just leave everything to Lionel!'

Alex stares from one of them to the other. 'What do you mean?'

'We were sounding out one of the interns who was out for a smoke', Lucy says, as she frenziedly rearranges papers on her desk, scribbling on the edges of some of them. 'He let it slip that Lady Tressillian did leave her estate to Lionel, but not singularly'.

She looks like she's in her own personal hell when she looks up, and Alex can barely make out the last words, from how choked up she sounds.

'Apparently, the will dictates that everything will be split by half, between him and woman he's going to marry'.

Alex feels her heart sink in sympathy. _Alura._

* * *

 

After that, it seems to Alex that everything happens at once, and yet nothing happens at all.

Oh, there’s a lot of retracing of steps to be done, now that they have to work with a new primary suspect in mind. This time, they need to be more discreet with their inquiries, too, as well as with the warrant requests sent out. At the end of the day, though, it’s still a waiting game, Alex’s least favourite part of cases like these.

She’s in the station the next week, waiting for yet another call from the Yard, and idly pursuing one of the months-old newspapers piled up around the place, when the mention of Lionel Luthor’s name in one of the articles catches Alex’s eye.

_LAST-MINUTE DEFEAT THROWS FAVOURITE LIONEL LUTHOR OUT OF CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES_

Alex scans the article with mild interest, before her gaze roves over to the adjacent picture, where the photographer had caught Lionel in mid-shot, executing a perfect backhand.

'The referee made a bad call on that one', a voice says, from behind her.

Alex almost jumps out of her chair and her skin. She had left the door to the station open, as per usual, but usually she’s able to hear people entering long before they come into view. This time, she hadn’t heard a sound.

'Jesus', she says, turning around to face her visitor. 'Astra, what the hell?'

'That’s always been his strongest shot, the backhand', Astra says, casting a frown down at the newspaper, as she stalks around the table, 'The ball was in, but the referee ruled it was out. Lionel didn’t even bother to contest it, and it cost him the game. I’d have torn the ref a new one, if it were me, sportsmanship be damned'.

Alex eyes her warily. She’d expected smugness, at Astra having startled her so easily. Instead, the woman is talking very fast, and she’s pacing in front of her desk, as if unable to keep still.

'Astra, sit down', Alex says. 'You don’t look well'.

Astra does as directed, practically falling into the seat opposite her.

'I’m fine', she says, rubbing her eyes, which look red and sleepless. 'You’ve found out, haven’t you?'

Alex raises her eyebrows. 'Found out what?'

Astra makes a noise like a distressed cat.

'About Alura, and the clubs', she says. 'I’ve seen that Officer Schott sneaking around the place, keeping an eye on her, and I know you’ve sent to the Yard for a new warrant'.

Alex sighs. News gets around fast, it seems, in such a small town, even if Lucy and her try their best to get the officers to be discreet.

'Look, it doesn’t mean anything', she says, leaning back in her chair. 'Left-handedness is a flimsy reasoning to call someone guilty'.

'Why’re you telling me that?' Astra demands, practically vibrating up and down in her chair now, all her usual stoicism evaporated. 'I already know she’s innocent'.

'Right, of course you do', Alex says. 'Astra, please, sit down. I’m not your enemy'.

Like a popped balloon, Astra seems to sag.

'I told her not to marry into that family', she mutters, leaning back in her chair and glaring at the ceiling, as if it has all the answers. 'She’s not the type to just marry for wealth, I don’t know why she said yes to that man. What on earth does she see in him?'

It occurs to Alex to wonder, briefly, whether Astra is actually more worried about Alura being the guilty party, than she herself is.

'I’m just Kara’s aunt', Astra says. Her eyes are wild, now, focusing on Alex only briefly. 'She needs her mother, Alex. You can’t take Alura away'.

'Astra', Alex murmurs. 'No one’s talking about talking anyone away, yet. Why does it sound to me like you’re not as convinced about Alura’s innocence as you should be?'

'I don’t know what to think', Astra rasps out. 'Alura wouldn’t... she’d never, not for money... but, I don’t know..'.

She stops, and Alex sighs.

'You want to know what I think, Astra? I think Alura is looking really guilty right now, and hiding herself away isn’t helping her case'.

Astra opens her mouth, looking betrayed, but Alex stalls her with a pat on her arm.

'But, as it happens, her behaviour is what makes me think most strongly that she must be innocent'.

That seems to stop Astra short of whatever rant she’d been about to go on.

'You think what?' she asks, looking like a train that has been brought to a very abrupt stop.

'There was an old case, back when I was first starting out', Alex mumbles, sending another expectant look at the phone, before turning back to Astra. 'Simple case, of some money being stolen from a student at a boarding school. The principal thought that she’d caught the girl who did it, the girl had even confessed, and we were called in for a routine writeup'.

Astra looks blank. 'What does this have to do with Alura?'

Alex sighs. 'It’s just, the girl... you should have seen her, Astra. She looked so guilty. Shifty eyes, wouldn’t meet our gaze, hunched over in her seat the whole time. And, like I said, she confessed the whole thing to the principal. But, we got the girl by herself, went through the usual set of questions, and well, turns out there was no way it could’ve been her.  She just had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she’d confessed under immense pressure, because she thought it was the easiest way to get out of the mess. See what I mean?'

'I see'. Astra frowns, looking only marginally calmer, but at least she seems to be listening. 'I think I see, yes'.

'Right', Alex says. 'You know I can’t give you my full thoughts, one way or another, but believe me when I say that I’m trying my best to help. But, I can’t do that if you can’t be honest with me'.

'So, who took it?' Astra asks.

Alex blinks. 'What?'

'Who took the money? Someone must have'.

'Oh'. Alex frowns, remembering how Alura had looked at the beach, gathering into herself, as if she was trying to take up less space, or perhaps vanish altogether. She remembers, also, Lillian striding along in the distance, saying nothing at all, as Cat had held a one-woman court.

'That’s the odd thing', she says, 'It turned out to be one of the teachers, actually. Funny, it hadn’t even occurred to the principal to search any of them'.

Astra nods, before her chair squeals backwards, and she abruptly gets to her feet.

'I need to go'.

'No!' Alex gets up hastily, too. 'Astra, wait. Let’s talk this through, ok?'

'There’s nothing left to talk about', Astra says, and the tremble has returned to her hands. 'I don’t think you can help me, Alex. Not if, not if..'.

Alex jumps in front of her erratic path, and backs her up, until Astra is trapped against her desk. 'Come on, I just want to help'.

'You cannot'. Astra mouth twists. 'We’re on opposite sides of this, Alex. You can’t help me, not without throwing everything that you are away'.

She makes to move past Alex, but Alex just advances closer, and boxes her in further against the desk.

'I don’t care, Astra. You saved me. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that'.

Astra looks mulish. 'You’re being foolish'.

'Only because you won’t tell me what’s going on, you stubborn woman', Alex snaps. 'Why do you keep blowing hot and cold? You came in here. That means you must have thought I could help!'

Astra is staring at her, her eyes darting between Alex and the walls, like she’s fighting to look away but failing.

'I’m sorry', she says. 'I haven’t made it fair for you, have I? I know I should stay away, but I just... you..'.

Alex stares at her, before reaching up and placing a bracing hand on each shoulder.

'Astra', she says, evenly. 'Stop babbling, ok? And don’t give me that crap about staying away. Just tell me what’s wrong'.

'It’s not just about Alura', Astra says. 'You do realize I’m one of your suspects? Don’t lie to me, Alex. I’m sure you’ve thought of it'.

Alex deflates, at the undeniable truth of that.

'We can figure it out', she mumbles. 'I want to- I mean, I don’t think - do you really think a job matters to me more than your life?'

'I don’t want you to make that choice', Astra whispers. 'I think you _will_ throw it away, if you think the cause is important enough, but you said yourself that this job is your second chance, Alex. I’m not taking that away from you'.

'You’re the reason I have that chance', Alex says. 'So stop the self-sacrificing bullshit, alright? You know, Lara said to me... she told me that maybe I was saved for a reason. I still don’t believe that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t be here without you'.

'Alex, stop'. Astra says, closing her eyes. Her lips tremble, but when she opens her eyes again, her face is back to its stoic mask.

'I mean it', Alex insists. 'If you’d turned me into the police, you know they’d either have thrown me into jail, or packed me off to a sanitorium. Even if I ever managed to get out, there’s no way I could have landed a respectable job again. Because of you, none of that happened'.

'Which is all the more reason why you shouldn’t be throwing in your lot with me', Astra says.

'This again', Alex mutters. 'You have to be the most stubborn person I have ever met'.

There’s a soft touch against her cheek, go gentle and fleeting that Alex blinks. When she opens her eyes again, it’s gone.

'We had such a short time, didn’t we?' Astra is smiling, but her eyes gleam in the dim light of the station. 'But, it was fun, Alex. You made me feel... I don’t know. New, I suppose. Like I could throw this town and its shackles away, just like you began a new life'.

'You can', Alex whispers. 'Look at you, Astra. You can do anything you want'.

Funny, how she had used to think of Astra in her memory as a larger-than-life figure, something strong and wild and somewhat magical. But, Astra is just a woman, with human ties that bind her just as much as they bind Alex. She’s a woman who’d gone to war to bring back her sister’s husband, and failed, and has had to live with that failure. That, Alex realizes, is something she cannot even imagine.

Astra simply looks pensive. 'I suppose I _can_ do anything, in a way'.

'Astra-', Alex starts.

Astra cuts her off by leaning forward, and brushing her lips over her forehead, just for a fraction of a moment.

'I have to go now', she says, when she steps back, and then she’s walking out the door.

Alex simply stares, knowing somehow that words won’t call Astra back. She feels a strange sense of loss, as if something final has taken place. Astra might just be walking away, but she might as well have flown off into the sky and disappeared altogether, for how distant she seems from Alex right then.


	5. Endless Night

Alex drags herself into the station early. She didn't sleep well, and woke up early, after having spent a restless night dreaming about the case.

She can't remember exactly what happened, but she knows it involved Lucy eating biscuits, which turned into crucial evidence, and Astra brandishing a cricket bat, which looked like Kara, because Kara needed her mother.

She shakes her head, and shuffles over to the counter to make coffee. God, she can't wait for this case to be over.

The door opens and shuts behind her, and Alex grabs another cup to make Lucy some coffee. ‘Get any sleep? This case is really destroying my ability to rest, which is weird, considering that -’

Alex glances up at Lucy, and stops mid sentence. Her friend is staring into the distance, her eyes hollow and haunted, and Alex says sharply, ‘Lucy?’

Lucy swallows. She runs a shaking hand over her face, and murmurs, ‘I just ran into Lara and Kal, on their way to the picnic’.

‘The one you’re meant to be going to?’

‘The same’.

Alex puts down her pencil, and approaches slowly, concern heavy in her voice when she says, ‘what’s wrong?’

Lucy takes a deep, shuddering breath, and says, ‘Kal was telling me all about going to the movies with his friends and Alura. He mentioned that it was really nice of his auntie to let them all sit in a separate row to her, so it felt like they were at some sort of special sleepover viewing’.

With a dawning sense of horror, Alex says, ‘so… where did she sit?’

‘Behind them. They were so riveted by the film that they didn’t see her until afterwards, and she was already waiting outside for them’. Lucy gives her a somewhat frantic look, her face drawn and pale. ‘The film was at least two hours long, Alex’.

Shit.

Alex runs her fingers through her hair distractedly, and takes steadying breath. ‘Okay, okay, just… let’s think this through. Would she have had enough time to get from the cinema back to the house?’

Lucy nods. ‘She could’ve driven there and back with plenty of time to spare’.

Alex bites her lip. Lucy’s distress is infectious. ‘Alright. Well… when we called the theatre, they said they didn’t see Alura leave’.

‘They also said that it was a quiet night and most of them weren’t paying attention’.

Alex sighs. ‘So… technically, Alura could’ve left without the children noticing, driven back, killed Lady Tressillian, and been back before the film ended?’

A muscle is jumping in Lucy’s jaw. ‘Yeah. And it was raining, so the car tracks would’ve been washed away’.

Alex watches her for a moment. Then, choosing her words carefully, she says, ‘Lucy, just… forget that you care about her for a second, okay?’

Lucy’s mouth opens, and for a moment, she looks faintly outraged. ‘What?’

‘Just humour me, okay?’ Alex gnaws on her lower lip. She’s not really sure where she’s going with this. But she remembers seeing Alura sitting on the beach, the way her shoulders curved in when she noticed Alex standing there, and the image won’t leave her alone. ‘If you didn’t care about her, looking at the evidence, would you think she’d done it?’

Lucy stares down at her hands for a long moment. The clock ticks in the corner, and just when Alex is beginning to think that Lucy won’t answer her, her friend looks up, her jaw set, and says, ‘no’.

Alex blinks. She’s a little surprised by the conviction in Lucy’s voice. ‘Really?’

‘Look, murder is about more than just facts, right? It’s about the people involved’. Lucy starts to pace, her hands shoved into her pockets, hunching her shoulders beneath her suspenders. She looks like a prowling animal. ‘And whatever it looks like, we don’t have definite proof that Alura killed Lady Tressillian. We have means, sure, and maybe opportunity, but no motive’.

‘The money -’

‘She’s about to marry a man who doesn’t need any kind of inheritance’. There’s a bitter note to Lucy’s voice that makes Alex wince in sympathy. ‘Money might be a motive, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense in this case’.

Alex hesitates. ‘When we were talking about Mr Treaves, you said that -’

‘I know what I said’. Alex can practically hear Lucy’s teeth grinding together. ‘But they’re two completely different MOs, aren’t they?’

‘Go on’.

Lucy takes a deep breath, and launches onwards. ‘There’s a huge difference between hastening a heart attack in an old man and bashing in someone’s skull’.

Alex nods. The thought has occurred to her. ‘It certainly seemed like the person who did it had a real grudge, and was definitely angry at the time’.

Lucy nods. She sounds a little breathless now. ‘I thought that maybe - _maybe_ \- Alura could be capable of murder if she was protecting someone. But even then, she wouldn’t do it like this. So… violently’.

‘I have to admit, I have a hard time imagining her beating anyone to death with a golf club. She doesn’t really look like she has the strength, especially if she wasn’t fuelled by rage’.

Lucy nods vigorously, and makes a sound of frustration when her hair falls into her eyes. She takes a steading breath, and says, a little more evenly. ‘The evidence might currently point to her, but it just doesn’t make sense’.

Alex nods. ‘I know. Even if the new will wrote Lionel out, as Lady Tressillian implied, the lack of money shouldn’t have bothered Alura either’. She shakes her head, and groans, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. ‘The case makes no bloody sense’.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, for example, was Mr Treaves killed because of Lady Tressillian? Or was she killed because of him?’ Alex shakes her head, realising a headache is beginning to brew at the base of her skull. ‘Were they both killed because of this apparently cold blooded killer Mr Treaves recognised? Was it because of something else entirely that hasn’t happened yet?’

She throws up her hands. ‘And then there’s the evidence. Even ignoring the fact that it points to Alura, there’s the fact that someone clearly, rather clumsily, tried to frame Lionel’.

‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that’. Lucy plops onto her desk with a heavy sigh. She clearly isn’t getting enough sleep. Alex can relate. ‘To frame someone for murder, you’d have to hate them, right? Like really, really hate them’.

‘Which doesn’t seem to fit Alura. Considering that she’s, well, marrying him’.

Lucy’s lips purse. ‘Yes, I’m aware’.

Alex pats her back sympathetically. ‘But, it’s sort of a good thing, right? If she’s marrying him, she has no reason to hate him that much. And because they’re not married yet, she could technically call off the wedding at any time, if she did. Framing him for murder is way too extreme’.

‘Plus there’s the clumsy way it was done’. Lucy’s lips quirk slightly, and she looks almost fond. ‘She’s really smart, Alex. If she was going to frame someone, she wouldn’t do it like that’.

‘Don’t mention that when you’re defending her’.

Lucy cracks a smile, something that’s become rather rare these days. ‘But you have a point’. Her brow crinkles, and she says slowly, ‘I mean… the only person who seems to hate Lionel is Lillian’.

‘Or at least, she did’. Alex sighs heavily. ‘She’s apparently been fine since the divorce’. She frowns. ‘Besides, that brings us back to Lady Tressillian, doesn’t it? You said so yourself, the old lady was kind to Lillian. Lillian had no motive to murder her’. She shakes her head. ‘And, if she was _that_ intent on framing Lionel for a murder, I doubt she would’ve picked the one person she depended on, or done it that way’.

Lucy groans. ‘Are we sure it wasn’t some random who came in off the street?’

‘Would’ve made things much simpler, huh?’

Lucy is quiet for a moment, and then says, ‘you know, oddly, I don’t think money is the motive at all’.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Well, it’s the most obvious, but the only two people who inherit are people who don’t need it’.

‘There’s Cat’.

Lucy arches an eyebrow. ‘Alex, she’s basically loaded. She doesn’t need it. Plus, she’s tiny. Can you really see her bashing in Lady Tressillian’s skull?’

‘Good point’. Alex sighs again. ‘And even if other people inherited from the new will, none of them seem to know it even existed’.

‘Exactly. So maybe we need to look for another motive’. Lucy purses her lips. ‘So, what’s the most common motive aside from money?’

‘Sex’.

‘Right’. Lucy stands before the board, frowning slightly. ‘So, aside from the relationship between Alura and Lionel, are there any others?’

Alex shrugs. ‘Between them all? Not that I’ve heard of. Unless Lillian is still holding a torch for Lionel’.

Lucy sighs. ‘The only thing I can think of is that Lady Tressillian apparently wasn’t too happy about the way Lionel was acting with Alura and Lillian before she died, but it’s pretty weak. And there’s Cat and the Mayor, but I don’t see how that’s relevant’.

'Maybe it's Olivia Marsdin', Alex says wildly. ‘She could’ve killed the old lady so that Cat wouldn't have a job and would be free to live her life with her'.

Lucy snorts. 'Well, everyone knows she's really strong. Like a wonder woman'.

Alex claps her hands together. 'That's it, we've solved the case. Let’s get a drink and sleep for a week'.

Lucy rolls her eyes, but Alex is pleased to see that she looks a little more relaxed. ‘But how, oh mighty detective, did she get to the house? Everyone would’ve recognised her car’.

Alex wags her finger. ‘Hey, I’ve done all the work so far’.

Lucy smiles, purses her lips thoughtfully, and then clicks her fingers. ‘I’ve got it. She could have swum across the cove, climbed the cliffs like a pro, and been back before supper’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. 'Swim the cove?'

'Oh, yeah’. Lucy shrugs. ‘It's pretty easy, actually. I've done it. And we all know Mayor Marsdin has'.

Alex blinks. 'We do?'

'Oh, I forgot you haven't been here that long. It's a long standing tradition. Every year there's a race, that anyone can compete in, from the beach across the cove to the cliff, and back'. Lucy smiles. 'The Wonder Woman wins every time'.

Alex laughs, a little incredulously, but says, 'that's it, solved! Motive, means, and opportunity!'

Lucy presses the back of her hand to her forehead. 'I can see the headlines now. 'Wonder Mayor commits her last act - murder'.

Alex sighs, and shakes her head. 'Alas, detective, you've forgotten one key thing'.

'Oh?'

'She would've been soaking wet when she got back'.

Lucy's eyes twinkle. 'Cat's work, I'm sure'.

'Lucy!'

Lucy heaves a sigh. 'You know what the sad thing is? It honestly sounds more plausible than anything we've come up with so far'.

Alex regards her for a moment, before she stands, rummages around in her desk, and withdraws an article about Mayor Marsdin, one written about her war days. There's a photo of the woman holding a child up on one shoulder, and cutting the ribbon for the opening of a new school with her other hand. Alex crosses to the suspects board, and pins it to the top.

'What are you doing?'

'Well, if we can come up with something that plausible, that is definitely not true, maybe it'll inspire us to figure out the truth'.

'Or maybe staring at Wonder Woman every day will be inspiration enough'.

Alex snorts. 'Why do people call her that?'

'Oh, something that happened during the war. She had one of those freak moments of strength. Basically lifted a tank'.

Alex blinks. 'Huh. No wonder she got elected to Mayor'.

Lucy sniggers. 'She's the only person my dad is afraid of'.

'Oh?'

'He challenged her to an arm wrestle, when all the stories about her were circling'.

'She won?'

'She thrashed him'.

* * *

 

‘Oh no’.

‘Shit’.

‘You might’ve warned me!’

‘I didn’t know about this!’

‘So Alura didn’t warn you that a picnic at the beach meant _swimsuits_?’

‘No!’

‘Jesus’. Alex rubs her hand over her face, and sighs. ‘This is going to be difficult’.

Lucy slaps her on the back, hard enough to make Alex stumble down the steps into the sand, but she’s distracted, so Alex doesn’t comment on it. Instead, she waves as Kara bounds over the sand towards her. She was a little worried her presence wouldn’t be welcome, but Kara looks genuinely pleased to see her.

‘Alex!’

‘Hey, Kara’.

Kara beams at her, and gives Lucy a quick, one armed hug. ‘I’m glad you both came. Mum’s been waiting’. Kara elbows Lucy hard, and then smiles at Alex. ‘And Aunt Astra will be really happy to see you’.

Alex and Lucy glance at each other as Kara rushes away again. Lucy looks a little bemused. Alex shrugs. ‘Kids, hey?’

Lucy chuckles. ‘You’d think there’s nothing wrong’.

Further along the beach, Lena is playing cricket with Lionel. Alura is standing close by, but she’s waving at them, a delighted smile curving her lips. She’s wearing a pale blue swimsuit, and has a light green shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Lucy gulps. Alex smiles. ‘Good luck’.

Lucy looks at her, and then her eyes focus over her shoulder. Her eyebrows raise, and she laughs. ‘You too’.

She moves away towards Alura, and a voice says, ‘Detective’. Alex turns to find Astra standing a lot closer to her than she anticipated, and takes a small step back. ‘I didn’t expect to see you here today’.

Alex swallows. Astra is wearing a very flattering black one piece that seems to ripple with dark blues as she moves. She’s seen it before, of course, but somehow it seems even more overwhelming under the bright sun, with her damp skin sparkling with reflected light. Alex smiles, trying to look anywhere than at her arms, or legs, or her chest, and instead focuses on the white streak in her hair. ‘That's a nice suit swim’

Astra blinks. ‘I’m sorry?’

Alex hopes her flush can be mistaken as sunburn. ‘I mean, swimsuit. It's a nice swimsuit’.

Astra glances down at herself, and says, ‘oh. Thank you?’

‘Lucy asked me to come along’, Alex says quickly, ‘and it’s been a quiet day, so I thought I would’.

Astra gives her a long look. Alex can’t help but remember how they parted yesterday, how she tried so hard to get Astra to talk to her. How it’s almost hard to imagine how devastated she looked, under the bright sun. It’s much harder to tell what she’s thinking, right now. Then Astra takes a deep breath, and says, ‘well, it is... good to see you’.

Alex doesn’t quite manage to hide her surprise. ‘Oh… you too. Are you… well?’

Astra shrugs. She glances over Alex’s shoulder, up along the beach to where Alura is talking with Lucy, and sighs. ‘I’ve been better’.

‘Yeah’. Alex wishes she could say more, that she could find some way to tell her it’ll all be okay, if she just _talked_ to her, but she can’t. Not here, at least. ‘I’m sorry’.

Astra gives her a strange look. Before she can say anything, however, Kara smacks into her side, fastens her hands around her wrist, and tugs. ‘Come on! You promised!’

Astra’s lips curve in a wide, rare smile, and Alex momentarily feels like she’s been blinded by the sun. She rocks back on her heels, blinking rapidly, and Astra shoots her an apologetic glance. ‘Excuse me, Alex. I promise Kara and Kal that I would…’, she glances down at Kara, ‘what did you call it?’

‘Dunk!’

‘Right, dunk them into the sea’.

Alex laughs, and Astra’s eyes sparkle. ‘Don’t let me keep you, then’.

Astra smiles, nods, and scoops Kara up into her arms. Alex’s eyes widen as Astra turns away, and the muscles in her back rippled as she hefts Kara up onto her shoulders. She swallows tightly, and there’s a bark of laughter from her right. She jolts, spins on her heel, and blushes to the roots of her hair when she sees Lara sunbathing a little further up the beach, watching her over the rim of her sunglasses, smirking at her. ‘Off duty, Detective?’

Alex rubs her hand over the back of her neck, and approaches slowly, which turns out not to be the best idea in her already frazzled state. Lara is wearing a two piece yellow bathing suit, and against the bright colour, her skin practically looks like it's glowing under the sun. Alex can tell she's staring at the defined lines in her stomach.

'Alex'.

Alex jumps. Lara has pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head, and her smile is bright against her dark skin. ‘Oh, uhm, yes?’

‘I thought you had a thing for Astra. It certainly looked like it, just then’.

'I do -', she chokes, and Lara's eyes glint with something like triumph, '- I mean, well, I have eyes!'

Lara laughs. 'Yes, and if they get any wider they'll fall out, and who will solve the murder then?'

Right. Murder investigation. Alex shrugs. ‘Like you said, I’m off duty’. She glances over, and smiles when she sees Lucy kneeling in the sand, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows, building a sandcastle. Lena is sitting beside her, apparently content to watch, rather than participate. ‘Might as well make the best of it’.

Lara hums. There’s a pause, and then she chuckles. ‘Take off your shirt’.

Alex jolts. ‘What?’

‘You look far too hot, and you’re wearing an undershirt, aren’t you?’

‘I - yes, but -’

‘You have very nice shoulders’. Lara reaches down to pick up her lemonade, and takes a sip. ‘And she’s watching you’.

‘Who?’

‘Astra’. Lara’s lips curl. ‘And she likes shoulders’.

Alex gapes for a moment, her jaw flapping, staring into Lara’s knowing eyes. There’s a voice in the back of her head that sounds very much like J’onn telling her that she needs to be professional, because she’s in the middle of a murder investigation, even if she is off duty.

Alex takes a breath, and shrugs off her shirt, draping it over her arm. A few seconds later, Lara sniggers. ‘What?’

‘Oh, nothing. Astra just dropped Kara’.

Alex laughs, and she can’t help the way her heart feels a little lighter. Lara watches her, and her expression softens slightly. ‘You know, we’re not all that intimidating once you get to know us’.

Alex opens her mouth, and closes it again, like an absolute idiot. She has absolutely no idea what Lara is doing. No, she knows _what_ she’s doing, she just doesn’t get why.

She clears her throat, and says lightly, ‘no? You’re just all gorgeous, highly intelligent, and somewhat mysterious’.

She’s incredibly proud of how flippant she manages to sound.

Lara laughs delightedly, and drops her sunglasses back down onto her nose. ‘Yes. You’d fit in well’.

Alex doesn’t know what to say to that. She manages a smile, and then turns away to wander off along the beach. She passes Lucy kneeling in the sand, encouraging Lena to shape her hands around a pile of sand. Alura has joined them, and has a pile of shells in her hand. Alex wanders a little further, and sinks onto a flat rock rising out of the sand. She stares around for a moment, takes a deep, shuddering breath, and drops her head into her hands.

She hates this family. She hates their ability to make her feel welcome, how easily she was able to forget that she's not supposed to be flirting, How Astra still looked at her like _that_ despite their conversation yesterday. She hates how easy it is to like them in the middle of a murder investigation, and how much she wants none of them to be guilty.

She hates them, and she hates Astra, and her stupidity gorgeous face and mermaid hair and frustrating stubbornness and she hates -

'Are you alright?'

Alex opens her eyes to find Lillian, of all people, staring down at her. She’s wearing a pale pink floral one piece that fans out like a skirt at the top of her thighs and does absolutely nothing to hide how long her legs are. She doesn't appear to be concerned despite her words, but then again the woman could probably be about to murder her where she stood and she wouldn't read it on her face.

Oh, yeah. Murder inquiry.

'Yeah. I'm fine'.

Lillian extends a glass. 'Astra asked me to bring you some lemonade'.

Oh, of course Astra wants her to enjoy some refreshing lemonade, even though she's being so stubborn about everything else. Still, Alex sits up, and takes the lemonade with a smile. 'Thank you'.

To her surprise, Lillian sits down on the rock next to her and watches her drink. It's a little unnerving, and after she's taken a few sips, she turns to the woman, and says, 'something wrong?'

Lillian's expression is as unreadable as always. 'You drank it, without hesitating. You weren't suspicious it might be poisoned'.

Alex is fairly certain that if she had been drinking, she would've choked. 'Umm... should I be worried about Astra poisoning my lemonade?'

'No'. The woman tilts her head slightly. 'It's just odd, that you're so trusting surrounded by murder suspects'.

Alex purses her lips, irritated despite herself. 'Maybe I don't think Astra did it'.

It’s not until she says it that she realises it’s true. She might not say it with the same unwavering conviction as Lucy, and she might not necessarily have the logic to back it up, but she believes it. Astra certainly has the strength to bash someone’s head in, and she has expressed not liking the family to Alex, and she’s been acting quite odd, but Alex doesn’t think that she did it.

She lets out a slow breath, surprised by how relieved the revelation makes her feel. She smiles slightly, and takes another sip of her lemonade.

‘You don’t?’

Alex glances at the woman again. She can’t tell if she sounds surprised. ‘No’, she says firmly, holding Lillian’s gaze, ‘I don’t’.

‘Good’.

Alex blinks. ‘Good?’

Lillian nods. She folds her hands in her lap, gazing out over the sand towards where Alura and Lucy are helping Lena build a sand castle. ‘Lena likes you’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. She’s had very little interaction with the young girl, who has barely said two words to her. But then again, that just seems to be her way. ‘She does?’

‘Yes. She thinks you’re smart’. The corner of her mouth twitches in what might, at least for her, count as a smile. Alex thinks briefly of the way Lillian smiled at Lara, and wonders at the strange difference. ‘I’d hate her to be disappointed’.

Alex has absolutely no idea what to say to that, and so she makes a noncommittal noise, and returns to sipping her drink. Lillian falls silent beside her, but it’s not exactly an uncomfortable silence, so Alex leans back on her hands to watch the figures running about on the beach.

Cat is sunbathing with Lara off to the side, waving her hand around her head as if she’s talking animatedly, and Lara is sitting up, rubbing sunscreen into her legs and nodding every now and then. Astra is racing up and down the beach with Kara and Kal atop her shoulders, and Alex tries _really_ hard not to stare at the muscles in her back. She chuckles under her breath when Astra splashes into the sea, stops at waist level, and dumps Kal and Kara off her shoulders to their shrieks of absolute delight. Lionel, left without someone to play cricket with, appears to be practising his backhand swing, while Lena listens intently to something Lucy is saying about her castle. Alex can’t see Alura’s face from here, but she can imagine that the woman is looking at Lucy in that soft, wistful way she never looks at her fiance.

It’s a strange, _nice_ picture, and for a moment it’s hard to believe that any of them could be involved in murder.

In a gust of wind, Alura’s shawl is snatched from her shoulders, curling up in the currents to race along the sand dunes towards them. Alura immediately turns on her heel to chase after it, scrambling over the shifting sand. Lillian rises to her feet, reaches up, and snatches the shawl out of the air as it sours over their heads, and moves towards Alura to give it back.

There’s a pause, as she passes it over, and Alex can’t see what’s going on with her view blocked by Lillian’s back, but something in the woman’s shoulders tenses.

She half rises, her brow furrowing, but then Lillian has turned away and walked off down the beach towards where the children play in the sand, and Alex glances at Alura in time to see guilt flash in her eyes before she manages to school it.

‘Everything okay?’

Alura seems to jolt, tightening the shawl around her shoulders, as if she hadn’t noticed her standing there. ‘Oh… yes. Yes, everything’s fine’.

Alex takes a step closer, tilting her head slightly, and says, ‘how’s Kara holding up?’

Alura’s face falls a little. She sighs heavily, and runs a hand through her hair. ‘I know Camilla could seem a bit… harsh, but she doted on Kara. On all the children, really. Kara is… she misses her’.

Alex nods. She opens her mouth to speak, when there’s a loud, dull crack, a shout of pain, and Alex turns just in time to see Lionel hit the sand as Lillian steps closer, and lifts the cricket bat over her head again.

For a second, Alex finds herself unable to move, her mouth gaping in surprise as Lillian brings the bat down hard against Lionel’s back, riveted to the spot by the sudden, unexpected _change_ in the woman who has so far shown about as much emotion as a statue, when Alura breathes, ‘oh no’.

Alex jolts out of her shock, and starts off down the sand, Alura racing along at her heels, and out of the corner of her eye she sees Astra practically drop Kara into the sand in her haste to get there.

‘You son of a bitch!’ The hard wood smacks against Lionel’s leg as he rolls away from Lillian in the sand, and the man howls. ‘I’ll kill you!’

Lionel rolls over, and catches the bat in his hands, and wrenches it out of Lillian’s grip with enough force to make her stumble. He surges to his feet, the bat gripped in his right hand, his body tilted towards the left, and for a moment, Alex is sure he’s going to hit her.

Except then Astra is there, wrapping her arms around Lillian’s waist and hauling her away by physically lifting her off the ground, and Alura has stepped between them and has her hands on Lionel’s chest to push him back. Lillian shrieks and kicks and scrabbles at Astra’s arms as the woman backs up, her eyes wild, and shouts, ‘I will! I’ll kill you!’

‘Mum!’

Lena is on her feet, looking tiny against Lucy, who has her arms wrapped around her shoulders. Alex notes that her friend hasn’t moved at all, and looks just as shocked by what’s going on as she is. Lillian stiffens in Astra’s arms, and something Alex might call horror flashes across her face, before she goes limp. Astra adjusts her grip, sweeps Lillian up into her arms, turns on her heel, and walks away along the beach. Lara jumps up to follow her, and Alex watches them go, vaguely aware that she should probably do something to stop it, but too stunned to move.

Lionel is dabbing at his nose with a towel Alura gave him, but despite the blood on his face, he doesn’t seem angry. In fact, he watches Astra’s retreating back with clear concern.

Alex blinks, rouses herself, and turns to Lionel. ‘You should get that looked at. You might have to reset it’.

Lionel nods, still distracted. ‘I’ll walk myself over to the clinic’.

‘You’re taking this remarkably well’.

Alura still has her hands on Lionel’s chest, but she’s turned away from him, watching Astra retreat with her lower lip caught between her teeth. Lionel glances at her, then back at Alex, and sighs. ‘I’m sure there was a perfectly good reason for what just happened, Detective. You’ll have to ask her’.

‘Oh, I will’.

Alura gives her an alarmed look, and then hurries away. Alex watches her approach Kara and Lena, bend down to Lena’s level, and give her shoulder a squeeze. Lena doesn’t look frightened, but she’s gnawing on her lower lip, clinging to Kara’s hand like it’s a lifeline, and Alex sees worry written in her small face.

She doesn't know what to make of that.

Lionel has just walked off towards the town when Lucy approaches her, her eyes still wide with bemusement. ‘So’, she says slowly, ‘what do you make of that?’

Alex laughs shakily, and runs a hand through her hair. She stares down at the cricket bat left in the sand, and says quietly, ‘I think Lillian is very lucky she’s currently not our main suspect’.

* * *

 

Lena lets her in. Alex stands on the threshold, staring down at the small girl uneasily. She’s never been sure what to make of Lena, except that she seems rather shy, very quiet, and apparently likes her. She looks a little paler than usual, and Alex murmurs, ‘hey, kid. Do you know where your Mum is?’

Lena points up the stairs. Alex gives her a grateful smile, which slips away when the girl wanders off outside. She’s a little disturbed by the fact that she didn't say a word. Then again, she supposes, seeing your mother lay into your father with a cricket bat would probably damage any child.

She remembers the concerned away Lena watched her mother, and wonders if that's really what's going on.

She takes the servants’ stairs, following the route Lady Tressillian’s maid took in order to see Lionel leave, and thus witness his alibi, and finds herself caught up in that thought. Children are remarkably resilient, but this must be affecting them pretty badly. She thinks of Astra, of the strained way she said that Kara needed her mother, and shakes her head, like she can rid herself of all her worries.

Something catches her eye, Alex pauses, and then pivots slowly on her foot, craning her neck up to get a better look. The bell cord runs all the way along the top of the wall, above the window, and then down towards the kitchens below. The shifts, leaning her body back, and accidentally dislodges the long window pole propped against the wall. She swears violently, almost over balances, and manages to catch the pole before it falls, or worse, smashes into the window.

It must've been a bird flying past. God, she’s jumpy.

It takes her a moment to remember which room belongs to Lillian, and she almost goes into Astra’s by mistake. The thought of seeing the woman's private, personal space, perhaps filled with things that would answer the many questions Alex has about her, makes her flush, and she backs away quickly before she can give into her curiosity.

Instead, she recounts the doors, decides she’s chosen the right one, even though she can't hear anything from inside, and knocks. There's a rustling sound, footsteps, and the door opens to reveal Lara. She’s still wearing her swimsuit, and she looks tired, and a little wary to see Alex standing there.

‘Detective’, she says slowly, ‘how can I help you?’

Alex sighs. It seems like they're closing ranks again. ‘I was hoping to talk to Lillian’.

‘She’s resting’. Lara's lips purse. ‘I had to give her a sedative earlier to calm her down’.

‘So she's asleep?’

‘No. But she's not in a fit state to answer any questions’.

Alex sighs, not exactly surprised, but a little frustrated that she's making this hard. But before she can say anything, a quiet voice calls, ‘it's okay, Lara. Let her in’.

Lillian is sitting in a window seat, a long, pale blue skirt draped around her legs and over the cushions, her arms left bare by a sleeveless white shirt. Her expression is as unreadable as ever, and any trace of her outburst before is gone. Alex probably wouldn’t believe it was the same person, if she didn’t know better.

‘Can I help you, Detective?’

‘Yes. I was hoping you could explain what just happened’.

Lillian glances at Lara, and the woman sighs. Shaking her head, she heads towards the door, pausing to say, ‘as her doctor, I recommend you keep this short’.

Alex nods, almost smiling at the memory of how unrelenting Lara was when it came to insisting her patients rested. Lara purses her lips, and slips out. Alex turns back to Lillian, and folds her arms over her chest. ‘So. What happened?’

Lillian folds her hands in her lap, and turns her head to look out the window. ‘I don’t have to explain myself to you, Detective’.

Alex almost gapes. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘What happened has nothing to do with this murder investigation, and it’s none of your business’.

‘You’re kidding me, right? You beat up your ex-husband with a cricket bat. Lady Tressillian was killed in a similar, extremely violent matter. It’s relevant’.

Lillian raises her eyebrows slightly. ‘You are aware it's been two years since the divorce, aren't you?’

‘Some people carry long grudges’.

‘Aren't you creative’.

‘Actually, I’m just looking at the facts. That's my job’.

Something in Lillian's eyes harden. ‘Yes’, she says, her voice dripping with scorn, ‘because the police always deal in facts. Or should I say, the facts they want to deal in’.

Alex blinks, a little thrown by the sudden hostility. ‘What's that supposed to mean?’

‘Why don't you figure it out?’ The woman's expression has reverted to that cold neutrality again. ‘You’re smart, after all’.

Alex takes a deep breath, and makes an effort to keep the irritation from her voice when she says, ‘you know you’re making this way more difficult than you need to, right? Which isn't the smartest thing to do in the middle of a murder investigation’.

Lillian's jaw tenses. She’s quiet for a moment. Then she says, ‘you said you don't believe Astra did it. Who do you think it was?’

‘You know I can't answer that’.

Lillian gives her a hard look. ‘It wasn't Alura’.

Alex keeps the surprise from her face. Instead, she told her head, and says, ‘then who was it?’

Lillian says nothing. Instead, she stares back at her, her gaze level and inscrutable, and yet…

Alex finds herself wondering, despite the facts, whether Lillian knows Alura didn't do it, because she did it herself.

There's a knock. ‘Detective’, Lara calls, ‘Cat wants to speak with you’.

Alex sighs, and mutters, ‘well, thank you for your time’.

Lillian shrugs, and stands, catching her shirt on the arm of the chair, and as it lifts, Alex sees a smooth stretch of smooth skin marred by several long, jagged scars. The woman makes a sound of frustration before unhooking her shirt, only to pause when she sees Alex staring. Alex blinks, and says, ‘the war?’

The woman’s lips purse, and she gives her one of those cold, level looks. ‘I was a nurse. Does that surprise you?’

‘I… well, I hadn’t heard you were. That’s all’.

Lillian nods, though Alex has no idea what she's acknowledging. ‘I trained to be a doctor, before I married Lionel’.

Alex gets an odd feeling of unease, and says distractedly, ‘well, rest up’.

Lillian makes a noncommittal noise, and Alex exits the room, nodding to Lara as she goes. It's not until she's descended the stairs in search of Cat that she remembers how Mr Treaves died.

‘Detective!’

Alex turns, and sighs when she sees Lionel hurrying towards her. There’s a magnificent purple bruise blossoming on the side of his face, and his reset, broken nose is red and swollen. Alex is a little started by the surge of satisfaction she gets upon seeing it. ‘Yes?’

The man looks oddly anxious. ‘I… just wanted to make sure that you didn’t get the wrong idea, about Lillian’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘What idea would that be?’

‘Well… I mean…’ Lionel gestures at his face, and gives her a somewhat sheepish smile. ‘This. It’s not her fault’.

Alex makes a skeptic sound. ‘Really? With all due respect, sir, she attacked you without provocation with a cricket bat. Who’s fault could it be?’

Lionel sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. ‘She has… mood swings’.

‘Mood swings’, Alex repeats flatly, wondering why on Earth the man is so invested in defending his ex-wife, ‘that frequently result in bruises and broken body parts?’

Lionel shakes his head. ‘Detective, you must understand, I treated her terribly during our divorce. I regret the way I acted now, but at the time it seemed…’ he waves his hand. ‘But she was a saint about it. She didn’t try to fight me on anything, even the proposed shared custody of Lena’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘I heard she was furious about it. Something about her throwing plates?’

‘No, no, she wasn’t’. Lionel sighs heavily again. ‘But after the divorce was finalised… I suppose she was more affected by it than I realised. She had a nervous breakdown’.

Alex frowns slightly. This really is the first she’s heard of this. She’ll have to ask Lucy if she’s heard anything about it, but considering that Lucy was the one who told her about Lillian being furious, this might be new information to her, too. ‘What happened?’

Lionel rubs a hand over his face. ‘It’s true that she broke plates, but she wasn’t throwing them at me. Cat found her in the kitchen, among the broken crockery’. He sighs, guilt written heavy in the lines of his face. ‘A nervous breakdown, Lara said’.

‘Lara?’

‘She had to stay in hospital for a while. Lara looked after her’.

Alex winces in sympathy. That explains why they seem close, at least. Then she frowns slightly. ‘So you're telling me that in times of extreme stress, Lillian frequently breaks things, whether it's herself or other people?’

Lionel gives her a helpless look. ‘That's not what I'm saying’.

Alex sighs. ‘Sir, you’re aware that we’re investigating Lady Tressillian’s murder aren’t you? That means that everyone is under suspicion. Even your ex-wife’. Or perhaps especially, after today.

Lionel’s eyes go very wide. ‘But Lillian wouldn’t, I mean, she couldn’t - !’

‘You’d be surprised what people are capable of, sir’.

Lionel swallows, and glances up the stairs towards Lillian’s room. Then he sighs, and murmurs, ‘I suppose you have to get back to your investigation then, don’t you?’

‘I do. Good day, Mr Luthor’.

Lionel waves distractedly. ‘Good day, Detective’.

Alex waits until he’s rounded the corner, and then pinches the bridge of her nose with a groan. And she thought her family was complicated.

Lionel’s staunch defence of Lillian does make sense, she supposes, if he’s coming from a place of guilt. Still… a nervous breakdown? Throwing plates? Ending up in hospital? That’s definitely something she should be checking up with Lara about.

And Lionel’s statement that Lillian has _mood_ _swings_ really doesn’t explain what happened on the beach. Alex has had mood swings before. Generally they end up with her spending the day in bed or in an armchair, reading and eating fish and chips.

They don’t cause her to go on murderous rages.

Shaking her head, Alex wanders down the corridor, towards Cat’s room. It’s only when she hears voices that she realises she doesn’t know where she’s supposed to meet the woman. She pauses, rocking back on her right foot, torn between asking the speakers where Cat is, and searching for herself, when the conversation registers.

‘... tell me, if something was going on, wouldn't you?’

‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Alura sounds tense, and Alex presses herself back against the wall, well aware she can't be seen but wanting to make doubly sure.

‘I don't know’. There's an edge to Astra's voice, and the sound of footsteps, like she’s pacing. ‘I just… if there was something wrong… I could fix it’.

There's silence. Alura makes a strange sound. ‘Oh, god’, she sounds horrified, her voice strained like she's going to cry, ‘you think I did it’.

‘Alura -’

‘You do, don’t you? You think I killed her’.

There's a pause. ‘I don't know what to think’, Astra says, her voice low and almost pleading, ‘you've been so distant lately. I can't tell what's going on in your head’.

‘I can't believe you…’ Alura's voice catches, and she seems to gulp for air. ‘You think I’m capable of that? Of… oh, god’.

‘Alura, if you did, I… you would've had good reason. I don't know what it could be, but I… I’d understand’.

There's a choked sound, a quiet sob, and then Alura says, ‘I could put up with anything, Astra, but I can't… if you think I did it, I…’

Alex cringes, wishing she could step away, but she’s a detective, and she could learn something from this. Still, she backs away slightly when the conversation falls silent, and all she can hear is soft sobbing.

She makes it past the room without being noticed, and heads towards Cat’s door, her mind racing. She remembers what Astra said the day before, how uncertain she seemed, but still… it seems strange that she doesn’t believe her sister.

Maybe she knows something they don’t.

Alura sounded genuinely upset by the fact that Astra thought she was the killer, but is that because she’s innocent? Or because she counted on her sister’s faith?

Alex shakes herself, and knocks on Cat’s door. She remembers the strain in Astra’s face yesterday, and her heart twists painfully.

She wishes, not for the first time, that she could fix everything.

‘Detective?’

Alex jerks. Cat is standing in the doorway, watching her with an arched eyebrow. Alex shakes herself, and says, ‘sorry. You wanted to see me?’

Cat purses her lips. She looks tired, and she waves Alex inside. ‘I did. Come in’.

Cat’s room is much bigger for a domestic than Alex has seen before. A large window lets light into the corners, and the bed is much larger than Alex was expecting. If she didn’t know Cat was the housekeeper, she certainly wouldn’t have suspected it by looking at her room. Cat moves towards a modern desk underneath the window, facing out to the sea, and starts rummaging around in her draws. ‘I thought you might want to know that Olivia has leant on a few shoulders. You shouldn’t have any trouble with the press, not until you’ve found your murderer, that is’.

‘Oh’. Alex remembers her conversation with Lucy earlier that morning, and bites her lip to hide a smile. ‘Well, thanks’.

Cat makes a frustrated sound, shuts the draw with more force than necessary, and moves to her bedside table. ‘It was getting annoying, honestly. One of them tried to take a photo of the children. I couldn’t have that’.

She stands, props her hands on her hips, and purses her lips. She says nothing, tapping her fingers against her hip, and Alex averts her eyes to look around the room. Her gaze is drawn by a small painting hanging above the bookcase, and she blinks several times. It’s a colourful painting of a kitten curled up on a blue rug, playing with a ball of green wool. It’s cute, but it’s also completely at odds with everything else in the room.

'I thought you hated jokes about your name'.

Cat glances at her, and follows her gaze to the painting. Her lips press in a thin line, and she mutters, 'I do. That was... a gift, from Camilla. A birthday present, of all things'.

Alex raises her eyebrows, wondering if Camilla was the kind of person who didn't respect her employees wishes. 'Didn't she know?'

Cat snorts. 'Of course she did. She thought it was hilarious. The letter said something about how she could always entrust her kitty to look after things'. She sniffs. 'Ridiculous woman'.

She turns away abruptly, and Alex watches her make the telltale movement of brushing tears away. She blinks in surprise, and sympathy wells up in her chest.

Really, the fact that Cat actually hung the painting up says a lot more about how she feels.

Alex opens her mouth to comment on it, but Cat suddenly makes a sound of understanding, and picks up the book from her bedside. She thumbs through the pages, and removes a piece of paper. ‘Here’.

Alex takes it with a frown. It’s a piece of paper torn from a notepad, covered in pencil shading. There are indentations in the page, and Alex feels her eyes widen. “Last Will and Testament?”

‘Indeed’.

‘Where’s this from?’

‘The children have apparently taken it upon themselves to do your job for you’. There’s no malice in the woman’s voice, just simple amusement. ‘They rubbed that from a stack of paper on Camilla’s desk’.

Alex blinks. ‘That’s… wow’.

‘They’re quite bright’.

Alex glances at the book in Cat’s hand. ‘And why’d they put it in your book?’

‘They gave me some cryptic message about where it was’. Cat rolls her eyes, and glances at the painting. ‘Something they got from Camilla, I’m sure’.

‘How do you mean?’

‘She used to give them riddles to solve. Treasure hunts, I suppose you could call them’. Something in her face softens, and her smile is almost wistful. ‘She was good with them’.

Alex smiles slightly. Cat seems to notice, because she blinks, and straightens her shoulders. ‘That’s all I had to say, Detective’.

‘Well, thank you. It at least confirms that Lady Tressillian wasn’t talking nonsense about a new will’.

Cat snorts. ‘Camilla might’ve been unwell, Detective, but her mind was as sound as ever’.

‘I’m beginning to get that’. Alex pauses, and then glances down at the note. ‘Who found this, by the way?’

‘Kara’. Cat’s gaze turns thoughtful. ‘She seems… quite determined about solving this’.

Alex grimaces. She remembers what Astra said, about Kara needing her mother, and lets out a shaky breath. She gives Cat a strained smile, and says, ‘well, thanks. I should be going’.

She can feel Cat’s eyes boring into her back. The peace of the beach seems like a lifetime ago.

* * *

 

‘Alex’.

Alex jolts, and blinks up at Lucy. ‘Hmmm?’

‘The warrant arrived’. Lucy shifts through the papers, and Alex can see way the corners of her eyes pinch as she looks at Alura’s warrant. ‘Here’.

Alex reaches out to take it, and Lucy frowns, staring down at the second piece of paper in her hand. ‘What?’

Lucy passes her the second warrant. ‘I didn’t know you asked for a second one’.

Alex nods, and slides it into her draw, which she locks. ‘I’m trying to keep it quiet’.

Lucy nods slowly. ‘I can see why’. She sighs, looking at Alura’s, which Alex places in the centre of her desk, and sighs. ‘You know, I really like this job most of the time’.

Alex offers her a sympathetic smile. ‘I get it’.

Lucy rubs at the back of her neck. ‘Want some coffee?’

‘No, thanks. I still feel weirdly hyped up from the beach’.

Lucy snorts. ‘Yeah. That was definitely something’. She pauses. ‘Did she say anything interesting?’

Alex shakes her head. ‘Not really. Lionel, however, gave me some very interesting information about a nervous breakdown she had after they divorced’.

Lucy blinks. ‘A nervous breakdown?’

‘Yep. Apparently now she gets mood swings’.

Lucy scoffs, and shakes her head. ‘Seriously? That’s his explanation for why she beat him up? Men’.

Alex feels a genuine smile curl her lips. ‘I had the same thought’.

‘He might’ve well have said it was her time of the month’.

Alex snorts. ‘Well, men do like citing female hysteria’. She falls quiet, staring down at the warrant, and then sighs heavily. ‘Something’s bothering me, about the whole thing’.

Lucy gives her a look that could either be despair or horror, like she’s dreading another complication. ‘You mean aside from Lillian trying to beat Lionel to a pulp?’

‘It was what happened before that’. Alex taps her fingers on the desk, her brow furrowing. ‘Something weird seemed to pass between Lillian and Alura. ‘I don’t know what it was, but… I feel like it’s important. And related, to the beating. She went and did it seconds later’.

Lucy tenses. ‘Are you saying Alura somehow silently convinced Lillian to beat him up?’

‘No, no. I just…’ Alex rubs her hand over her face. ‘I can’t explain it. But I think you should ask her about it’.

Lucy blinks. ‘Why me?

‘Come on, Luce. She likes you. I’d say she also trusts you. She might tell you, if you ask’. Alex hesitates. ‘Besides… you might be the only person who believes without a doubt that she didn’t do it’.

Lucy stares at her. ‘But… what about Astra?’

Alex shakes her head. ‘Astra thinks she did it’.

Lucy pales. ‘What?’

‘I heard them. I… I don’t think Astra _wants_ to believe it, but she does. I imagine Alura is feeling… very alone, right now’.

‘Jesus’. Lucy sighs, and then grabs her jacket from her chair. ‘Alright. I’ll go have a word’. She pauses at the door, and her shoulders droop. ‘What do you think will happen to Kara, if… if we have to arrest Alura?’

Alex bites her lip. ‘Let’s… not think about that for now, okay?’

‘Yeah… yeah, okay’.

Alex watches Lucy go with a heavy heart, and taps the warrant on her desk with a sigh. She understands how Lucy feels. Usually, pursuing justice feels… better, than this. It feels like she’s doing something good.

Right now, she feels like she’s on the verge of ripping a family apart, and it’s the worst feeling in the world.

* * *

 

Something pinches her arm, and Alex jerks out of a fitful doze with a grunt. ‘Wha?’

‘You were sleeping’.

Alex blinks, and starts when she sees Kara standing next to her desk. She rubs at her eyes, and squints at her watch. It’s only been half an hour since Lucy left, and Alex doesn’t bother to cover her yawn. ‘Sorry. It’s been a long few days’.

Kara just watches her for a moment. Then she says, ‘where’s Lucy?’

Alex takes in the hard set to Kara’s jaw, and stands, moving around her desk to lean against it and stare down at the girl. ‘Out following a lead. Can I help?’

Kara’s eyes are oddly flinty for a child, and for a moment she’s silent, staring up at Alex with her fists clenched. Alex tilts her head, hoping to seem encouraging, but Kara’s eyes just flash, and she says, ‘you think my Mum killed Auntie’.

Oh. Well, shit.

Alex glances quickly at the door, as if by some miracle Lucy will come wandering through just because she really needs her to. She really doesn’t know how to handle kids, and at least Kara likes Lucy. She sighs, and then lowers herself into a crouch, so that she’s looking up at the girl, and says, ‘why do you think that?’

Instead of looking mollified, Kara just seems to inflate, as if she’s filling with steam, and she snaps, ‘I’m not stupid’.

‘Kara -’

‘You’ve had people following her around’. Kara’s small hands bunch into fists, and if Alex weren’t so worried about how she’s going to handle this, she might be a little in awe of how furious a twelve year old manages to look. ‘And Mr Luthor said you were _really_ interested in the fact that she’s left handed’.

Alex blinks, slightly thrown. ‘You call him Mr Luthor?’

‘What else am I going to call him?’ Kara’s eyes flash. ‘Don’t change the subject’.

Alex sighs, and runs a hand through her hair. Mollifying Kara probably isn’t going to work at this point. ‘Look, Kara, we think that the person who killed Lady Tressillian was left handed, okay? That’s the only reason I was interested’.

Kara’s eyes narrow. ‘That’s not true’.

‘Kara -’

‘If that was true, then why have you guys been acting so weird recently?’

Alex feels a little thrown. ‘Weird?’

‘Yeah! Lucy hasn’t been up to the house in ages! And I know you like Aunt Astra, but you haven’t been up either!’

Alex feels her cheeks heat a little. ‘Kara, we’re detectives, okay? We can’t spend too much time around you guys until we’ve worked out who killed Lady Tressillian. It’s just how things work’.

All at once, Kara seems to deflate, twisting her hands in her shirt and staring at her feet. ‘She’s not sleeping’.

Alex frowns, and hesitantly places a hand on Kara’s shoulder. The girl doesn’t shrug her off. ‘Who?’

‘Mum’. Kara’s teeth dig into her lower lip. ‘She hasn’t been sleeping. She thinks no one noticed, but I have, and I know Aunt Astra has, too’. She scoffs. ‘Adults are so stupid’.

Despite herself, Alex chuckles softly. ‘How so?’

‘You always think we don’t notice things because we’re kids’. Kara waves her hand. ‘Like Mr Luthor thinks Lena and I don’t know that he still likes Lily’.

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘You call her Lily?’

‘What else would I call her?’ Kara gives her a suspicious look. ‘Are you even listening?’

‘Yes, of course. Go on’. Alex frowns slightly. ‘Are you sure he’s not just being nice to her, though? Why would he divorce her and decide to marry your Mum if he still liked her?’

Kara waves her hand. ‘Something stupid about wanting more kids’. She makes a face. ‘Which is I guess why he wants to marry Mum’.

Alex blinks, her frown deepening. She hasn’t heard any of this information before, hasn’t heard anything about Lionel still holding a flame for his ex-wife, or that she presumably won’t - or perhaps can’t - have more children. She glances up at Kara, to see that she’s still wearing that faintly disgusted expression, like most children do when they’re thinking about their parents having sex, and says, ‘and what about your Mum?’

Kara looks momentarily thrown by the question. ‘What about her?’

‘Does she want more kids?’

Kara scoffs. ‘No’.

Alex wonders momentarily if Kara is wrong. A mother is hardly going to tell her child that she isn’t satisfied with just one child. Kara’s eyes narrow, as if she’s somehow picked up on what Alex is thinking, and shakes her head. ‘That’s not why she’s marrying Mr Luthor’.

It really is weird, that the girl keeps referring to Lionel that way. Alex decides not to comment on it, and instead says, ‘then why is she marrying him?’

Some of the tension that has been vibrating through the girl’s body seems to fade, and she sighs heavily. She twists her fingers together again, and mumbles, ‘I should probably say it’s because she loves him, right?’

Alex pats Kara’s shoulder a little awkwardly. In all their time here, she’s never thought for one second that Alura loves Lionel. She smiles so much more naturally around Lucy than she does around her fiance. ‘If that’s true, then yes. Not everyone marries for love, though’.

‘Yeah’, Kara murmurs, ‘if she was, she’d be marrying Lucy’.

Alex wishes briefly that Lucy was there, but for a far different reason than before. She can imagine the way her friend would turn red, the genuine delight that might shine in her eyes, the way she’d probably drop something and fumble around for it on the floor to give herself time to pull herself together.

The thought makes her smile a little, and she says, ‘so if not, why do you think she’s marrying him?’

It’s something that she’s wondered about more than once, even before the investigation started. She’d have to be blind not to notice the way Alura seems to light up whenever she sees Lucy, and that simply isn’t there with Lionel.

‘I think it’s because of me’.

Alex blinks, staring at Kara in surprise. ‘You? What do you mean?’

Kara’s face pinches in an expression that is shockingly guilty. ‘Stability, I think? Maybe she thinks I need a father or something’. She makes a displeased sound. ‘Which is stupid. I’ve only ever needed Mum and Aunt Astra’.

Alex hesitates, and then decides to try and steer the conversation away from what clearly isn’t making Kara feel very good. It’s strange, in a way, the twists and turns this conversation has taken. ‘Astra’s always been there, huh?’

‘Yeah. My whole life’. Kara hugs herself, and Alex finds herself shifting a little closer. ‘We’re the only family I need. I don’t see why that has to change’.

‘Maybe it won’t’, Alex says quietly. She gives Kara’s shoulder a little squeeze. ‘It’s not like Astra’s going to leave, or your Mum won’t have time for you. You’ll still be a family’.

Kara’s eyes flash, and she looks so much like Astra then that Alex almost does a double take. ‘No, we won’t. Not if _you_ arrest Mum for something she didn’t do’.

Alex sighs, and sits back on her heels. ‘Kara, we’re not going to arrest her’.

The _not yet_ seems far too clear, and Kara's jaw juts. ‘So what if she’s left handed! She has an alibi’.

Alex winces. ‘Well… Lucy heard that she sat behind you during the movie. If you didn't see her the whole time, she could've left without you noticing’.

Kara opens her mouth, and then shuts it again. There's a look of real panic behind her eyes now. ‘But… but what about motive? Why would Mum kill Auntie Camilla! She wouldn't! There's no reason to!’

Alex bites her lip. ‘Kara, I’m just telling you what I can, okay? I don't know what her motive would've been. I don't even know if she really did it’.

Kara's eyes are starting to water, and she rubs at them angrily. ‘Can't you just believe she didn't do it?’

‘Kara…’

‘You’re just like Aunt Astra’.

Alex blinks, and frowns slightly. ‘I am?’

Kara swallows. ‘I think she thinks Mum did it too. She… she’s been acting weird’.

Alex remembers the conversation she overheard, and sighs. ‘How so?’

‘She… well, Mum was sleeping with me last night. It's the first time she's managed to sleep at all, really, and… Aunt Astra came in and got in with us, and I heard her…’ the girl sighs, wringing her hand together, staring down at her feet. ‘She thought I was asleep, but I heard her say that… that she was going to fix it. All of it’. Her mouth twists. ‘Why would she say that if she didn't think Mum did it?’

Alex bites her lip. She thinks of the pleading note in Astra's voice when she told Alura to let her fix it, and how she came to the station when she heard Alura was a suspect. ‘Maybe it's not that she thinks your Mum did it. Maybe it's more that she thinks _we_ think she did’.

It’s probably not wise to try and get Kara to focus on that, but she doesn’t like the idea of Kara being angry with Astra, when the woman is clearly tearing herself up about not being able to help her sister. To her surprise, however, Kara doesn’t take the bait, just shakes her head and mumbles, ‘she was being weird this morning’.

Alex sighs. She stands, crosses to Lucy’s desk and rummages around in her draws until she finds her precious tin of biscuits. She snags one, and returns to Kara, offering it like a olive branch. Kara takes it with much less enthusiasm than she was hoping, and sits on the desk, swinging her legs back and forth as she nibbles on the biscuit. Alex leans back against her desk beside her, and says, ‘how was she being weird?’

Kara shrugs. ‘You’re all weird. You like Aunt Astra, she likes you, Mum likes Lucy, Lucy likes her, and none of you are doing anything about it’.

Alex coughs, rubbing at the back of her neck. ‘Well… what about Cat and Olivia Marsdin?’

‘Oh don’t get me started on that’. Kara sounds oddly grown up, rolling her eyes as she takes a bigger bite of the biscuit. ‘It drove Auntie mad’. Her mouth twicks up in a small smile. ‘Carter said he’d try and talk some sense into Olivia while he’s there’.

Alex chuckles. ‘So Astra was being weird because she… likes me?’

Kara’s face falls again, and she shakes her head. ‘No. She was just… being weird. Saying weird things’.

‘Like what?’

‘Like… she wouldn’t let me lose my Mum’, Kara’s voice gets very small, and her shoulders hunch inwards, ‘that she would make sure I wouldn’t. That she’d make everything okay’.

Alex stares. An odd, uncomfortable feeling settles in her gut, and the longer she stares the more it grows, swelling up inside her until she feels sick with it, and she’s still staring when the door opens and Lucy returns, looking worn out and stressed.

‘Oh, hey Kara’. She looks genuinely pleased to see Kara, and despite her earlier anger, the girl slides off the desk to hug Lucy tightly. Lucy pats her back, and says, ‘is that one of my biscuits?’

Kara smiles sheepishly. ‘Alex gave it to me’.

Lucy glances up, and her smile falls. Whatever she sees in Alex’s face seems to alarm her, and she says sharply, ‘Alex?’

Alex pushes herself off the desk, and says, ‘stay with Kara’.

‘What?’

‘Just, do it’.

And then she takes off at a run.

* * *

 

She’s reached the first cafe at the boardwalk that runs along the beach when she realises she might be overreacting. She slows to a jog, becoming aware of how hard she’s panting, and tries to swallow past the lump in her throat.

She bends over, braces her hands on her knees, and takes several slow, deep breaths.

Okay. So Astra has acting strange and cryptic, and telling Kara she loves her. That doesn't necessarily mean anything. She's always been strange and cryptic. Maybe -

Alex glances up, and freezes.

There, at the top of the cliff where Alex once tried to end it all, stands Astra. It would be almost impossible to see her if the weather wasn’t so clear, but as it is the sun seems to gleam in that white streak of hair, and Alex has started running even before she’s fully registered the sight

She won’t make it up the cliff in time, won’t be able to stop the inevitable, but she leaps over the stone barrier to land in the sand, stumbles against the shifting grain, and looks up just as Astra takes a step forward, and plummets down like a stone.

Alex chokes on a cry, pushes herself to her feet and dashes down towards the surf, her heart beating in her ears, kicking off her shoes as she goes. She leaves a trail behind her, shirt, tie, shoes, socks, and wades into the water, and she barely feels the shock of cold when her whole body is alive with adrenaline.

The sea is calm today, and Alex dives under the water, kicking out and trying to remember to focus on her strokes, to keep them long and even, and every breath she takes when she turns her head feels ragged and uneven. She stops when she nears the edge of the cliff, treading water and turning her head frantically in search of the woman. She sees a mass of dark hair in the water, and kicks out towards her. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears.

Astra must've been knocked out from the landing, because she doesn't attempt to resist Alex when she turns her over, loops an arm around her chest and begins to make her way back to the shore. It's slow work, and Alex feels like far too much time has passed since Astra plunged over the cliff, and her weight is hard to manage.

She’s a _dead_ weight, which is a horrible thought, and it gets harder once her feet find the bottom. Without the water to hold her afloat, dragging Astra through the shallows is an effort that strains at her shoulders and burns in her back. The waves cascade against her legs, and one smacks her in the back, sending her face first into the hard sand with a shout. She spits sand from her mouth, rolling onto her back in time to catch another wave in the face, and Astra lolls against her side until Alex grits her teeth, sets her feet in the sand, and hauls her further up the beach.

She collapses to her knees beside the woman, staring in a moment of panic at her still face. Was this how Astra felt, when she saved her? Except surely not, because Alex didn’t mean anything to her then and she has no idea what Astra really means to her now but it’s _something_ , more than she has words to describe, too great to sit still in her chest, and her throat is burning like she’s choking on it.

She smacks Astra hard in the chest, and shouts, ‘Astra!’

It’s not how she’s supposed to do it, but it works. Astra convulses, sprays water from her mouth that catches Alex in the face, and rolls onto her side, heaving as she coughs up all the water that must’ve entered her lungs.

Relief floods her like a tidal wave, her eyes pricking with tears, and Alex smacks Astra on the back, perhaps a bit harder than she needs to. Astra falls forward onto her elbows, the muscles in her back constricting as she coughs and shudders and falls quiet with a final shudder. With a groan, the woman pushes herself up, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. Her eyes focus, and she wheezes, ‘ow’.

Something flares hot in Alex’s chest, and she smacks the open palm of her hand against Astra’s shoulder. Astra jolts, blinking at her as if in surprise. Alex’s eyes burns, and she snaps, ‘well maybe you should’ve thought about that _before_ you went and threw yourself off a cliff’.

Astra snorts. ‘I should’ve known you wouldn’t just let me fall on my sword in peace’.

‘Fuck you’.

Astra looks genuinely surprised. She opens her mouth to say something, when another coughing fit over takes her. Her eyes are watering when she stops, and she rubs at her chest for a moment. ‘You should’ve let me drown’.

Alex sucks in a sharp breath. ‘Yeah, I’m _really_ the person you should say that to’.

Astra chuckles. ‘Funny how things turn out’. Her eyes rove over Alex’s face, and she tilts her head. ‘You’re… upset’.

Alex throws her hands up. ‘Yes, I’m upset! You tried to kill yourself!’

‘Tried being the key word’. Astra sighs, and runs a hand over her face, pushing her sodden her back. Water drips down her chin and falls from her eyelashes, and she shakes her head. ‘It would’ve made your job a whole lot easier’.

‘How can you say that?’

‘It would’ve been admitting to the murder. Case closed’.

Something surges up in Alex’s chest, and she reaches out, grabs Astra by her sodden shirt, and kisses her.

Astra makes a muffled sound of surprise, but her hands curve against Alex’s face and her lips part, and Alex finds she can’t bring herself to care about anything else. Astra tastes like salt, and her lips are warm and soft and welcoming, and Alex presses herself closer, looping her arm around the woman’s neck and kissing her harder.

Astra pulls back suddenly, her eyes wide, and she almost looks surprised. She licks her lips, and murmurs, ‘Alex… you really shouldn’t have done that’.

Alex huffs. ‘Didn’t seem like you were complaining’.

Astra sighs heavily. She leans forward to rest their foreheads together. ‘Alex… you’re the investigating officer in a murder that I could’ve committed’.

‘But you didn’t’.

‘You can’t know that’.

‘Oh? Throwing yourself off a cliff to confess to a crime to save your sister? I’d say that’s proof enough’.

Instead of arguing, Astra seems to sag. Alex reaches up to cup the back of her head, and Astra murmurs, ‘I just… wanted to fix things’.

Alex swallows tightly. ‘But you’re not a murderer, Astra’.

There’s a choked laugh. ‘I am’.

‘Astra -’

‘I was the child’.

Alex blinks. She pulls back to stare, genuinely failing to understand what Astra is talking about. ‘What child?’

Astra’s eyes are dark and haunted, and her mouth twists in a grimace. ‘The child murderer, that Mr Treaves talked about. That was me’.


	6. Nemesis

Alex gapes at Astra. 'You were the child?'

Astra sighs. 'You were bound to find out, sooner or later. The records might have been sealed, but I’m sure they’d be open to you'.

There is a protracted silence, and then-

'Alex?' Astra prompts.

Alex’s jaw works, but she’s only able to get one word out. 'No'.

'Denying it won’t make it false-' Astra begins.

'That’s not what I mean'. Alex gets up, and tugs Astra to her feet, mindful of her injuries. 'I’m tired, you’re hurt, and we’re both freezing cold. Let’s go to my cottage to change, and then we can talk properly about this'.

She stalks off, and Astra falls into step beside her soon enough.

'You don’t take no for an answer, do you?'

Alex smiles slightly. 'I’m taking tips from a very stubborn woman'.

They hire a cab back from town, riding in silence past the rows of shops, and then houses, before the familiar trees near Alex’s cottage come into view. Once they get out of the car, Astra looks like she’s about to say something again, but Alex forestalls her.

'Change of clothes, first', she says, grimacing as she leads the way to her cottage. 'I feel like half the sand on the beach is stuck to my shirt, right now'.

She directs Astra to a pile of newly done laundry, before disappearing into her bedroom for a quick wash and change. By the time she comes back out, Astra is nowhere to be seen. Unconcerned, Alex walks over to the kitchen, and sets about brewing a pot of tea, before walking back out of the cottage, in the direction of the woods.

Astra is slowly pacing along the tree line, staring up at the sky. She blinks, when Alex nears and passes her a mugs of tea.

'Alex, I-' she begins.

'Ssh', Alex says. 'You’re still shaking. Drink up'.

Astra subsides, and the two of them take seats on two tree stumps side by side, drinking their tea in silence. Alex blinks up at the bright afternoon sun as she drinks, taking in the peaceful sounds of the birds around them, and the distant roar of the trains.

'Alright', she says, when they’ve both finished. 'What do you mean you were the child?'

Astra neatly stacks away both mugs to one side of the stumps, before she replies. 'Isn’t it obvious? I was the one who killed Lex'.

Alex stares. 'Who’s Lex?'

'Oh, yes'. Astra’s eyes narrow. 'I suppose I should start at the beginning. My father was an old friend of Lord Tressillian’s. When we were young, Alura and I were sent to spend every summer at the mansion. Lord Tressillian had two wards then, Lionel and Alexander. They were around all the time, so of course we spent most of our time with them'.

'Huh'. Alex frowns. 'Lady Tressillian never told me about another ward'.

'I don’t think she liked to speak of it', Astra says, her voice tight. 'After his death, that is'.

'I see', Alex says. 'Astra... what happened, exactly?'

'It wasn’t much different from the account that you must have heard', Astra says. 'We were playing near the mansion, just as we did most days, except this time Lex had found a set of bows and arrows for the four of us. Alura and Lionel were playing with them, up on the cliffs, along with Lex. I’d been distracted along the way, and I was still climbing up to join them, when it all went to hell'.

'How so?' Alex asks, gently as she can make her tone, so as not to spook the already strung out woman.

Astra closes her eyes, looking pained. 'You have to understand, Alex... they were... _we_ were children. There must have been some sort of stupid argument, or dare. Just as I was climbing up to join them, I saw Lex laughing, and trying to pull Alura over to the side of the cliff. She was screaming, and that just made him laugh harder. Now that I think about it, I don’t think he really knew what he was doing, or how scared she was. It was probably just a big joke to him, the possibility that she could actually fall'.

'A joke?' Alex echoes, incredulously.

'Lex was like that'. Astra opens her eyes again, and frowns up at the sky, before lowering her head. 'I remember Lionel nearby, watching. He seemed frozen. I don’t think he knew what to do. And me... I knew I could never climb up to reach Lex in time, if he decided to actually throw Alura off. So, I just... reacted'.

'You mean, you shot him', Alex says. 'Is that it?'

Astra nods. 'It was the only way I could think of to get him away from her. I almost lost my footing myself, letting that arrow loose. By the time I regained my balance, and ran up to Alura, Lex had already bled to death. Alura was still screaming, and Lionel was still just standing there, looking spellbound'.

Alex lets out a hissing breath. 'That sounds like Lionel, all right'.

The man has always, she realizes, seemed feckless to her, for all his niceness and affability. He’s likeable, but there’s an obvious air of indecision about him, and a lack of conviction, that fits in perfectly with Astra’s account.

'I was still in shock, when the lawyers and the police were called in', Astra continues. 'I don’t remember much, but I know I was still furious through most of it. Furious at having almost lost Alura, because of that careless idiot. I suppose that came across as cold and remorseless, to the officers'.

'Astra-' Alex begins, in a murmur.

'They weren’t entirely wrong', Astra says. 'Mr. Treves used to look at me quite oddly at times, after that. I can’t say I blame him. Lord Tressillian never spoke to my father again, either. Lex was always his favourite'.

Alex reaches out a comforting hand, but Astra keeps both hers out of reach, clasping them tightly in her lap.

'It’s alright, Alex. I knew all along exactly what I’d be capable of doing, to protect what I care about. '

'Stop it', Alex hisses. 'You were a child, Astra'.

Astra smiles. 'You think I wouldn’t do what needs doing, even now?'

'Your idea of what needed doing was throwing yourself off a cliff', Alex retorts.

She shuffles off her stump, and onto Astra’s, so that she’s practically sitting on top of her. She hides her head against Astra’s neck, nestled in clouds of brown hair, and clutches the woman tightly to her.

'I’m not having you torture yourself over something you did decades ago'.

'I’m not', Astra says. 'I know myself, Alex. I’m still that person, and I’ve made my peace with that. It was my sister who changed'.

Without breaking her hold, Alex tilts up her face. She studies Astra’s expression, and sees how haunted she looks, despite her professions of being unmoved. 'How did she change?'

Astra bites her lip. She looks to be deep in thought for a while, before she answers. 'Alura was different after the shooting. Jumpy. Scared. I was sure she was keeping things from me, even though we used to tell each other everything. It was like she just... retreated into herself. She got better after we moved away, and then-'

She trails off, mouth curving unhappily.

'And then Zor?' Alex guesses.

Astra nods. 'She was almost herself again, by the time she met Zor. Then Kara came along, and we were all so happy, until the war, and Zor’s death, and-'

She stops again, and sighs, picking at the grass growing around her tree stump. 'Everything changed'.

Alex digests that in silence. She can’t imagine such a scenario as the one that Astra had related, can’t imagine what she’d have done as a child, if someone she loved had been put in abrupt danger like that, right in front of her eyes.

'Astra', she asks. 'Why is Alura really marrying Lionel?'

Astra looks at her blankly. 'What?'

'Come on', Alex says. 'You're not blind. You've seen how she looks at Lucy'.

Astra shrugs, looking strangely uncomfortable. 'Alura was always more concerned about living up to expectations than I was, and she has Kara to think of'.

'But, whose expectations?' Alex asks. 'You parents are dead, and Lucy might not be wealthy, but I’m sure she’s comfortable enough that they won’t be destitute, if they both get together.

Astra’s eyes flash, all of a sudden, and Alex pauses mid-argument. Then, the other woman exhales, the fire in her gaze dying away.

'You’re trying to ask me if she’s just marrying him for the money and status', she says. 'I’ve wondered, Alex, and I don’t think so. Alura can be like a brick wall about her emotions, sometimes. I think she agreed to marry Lionel because she thought it was the right thing to do for Kara, nothing more'.

Alex frowns. Of course, Astra knows her twin better than she ever will. But, Alex remembers how Alura had looked that very morning down at the beach. She gets the feeling that there’s something else here, something that they’re all missing.

And, it’s making Astra do stupid things. Alex sighs, realizing that’s what bothers her most, about this whole situation.

'What is it?' Astra asks.

'You call Alura a brick wall', Alex says, shaking her head. 'But, you’re the most unpredictable person I know. Sometimes, I feel like I know exactly what you’re thinking, and then other times, you totally throw me for a loop'.

'Well', Astra’s mouth quirks up. 'I suppose I should be glad you figured out exactly what I was thinking of doing, today'.

Alex stares at her, feeling something fierce and protective rear up inside her, when she realizes just how close she had come to losing Astra. Without thinking on it, she moves forward, cradles Astra’s head with both hands, and brings her in for another kiss.

Astra sighs against her lips, when their mouth meet.

'Alex...’

Alex kisses her hard, fisting fingers into her hair, and drawing her in closer, until there’s just the warmth of Astra’s mouth against hers, staving off memories of what she had almost lost. Again and again she kisses Astra,  and then once more for good measure, until-

'Alex!' Winn’s voice, shouting her name in the distance, cuts through Alex’s pleasantly hazy mind, causing her and Astra to jerk apart. 'Alex, where are you?'

Alex is still staring at Astra’s lips, wondering if she should just go in for another kiss, and terrorize Winn until he goes away, when the officer himself runs into view.

'Alex, Lucy wants to see you!' Winn gets out, in between panting breaths. 'She says to come right away!'

He stops dead, as he takes in Alex’s companion. 'Oh... hello, Astra'.

Alex stares at him, and then back to Astra, conflicted. The other woman is already rising from the stump, with a faint grimace of pain.

'Go', she says. 'I suppose I should be off to find Alura, too'.

'But, are you-' Alex starts, 'I mean, you’re hurt'.

'I’ll be fine', Astra says, with a haughty toss of her hair, which she softens by a smile directed at Alex. 'I’ve had much worse, believe me'.

Then she’s leaving, through the trees as usual, and Winn is tugging at Alex’s arms, babbling something about olives, as he leads her towards his car.

* * *

 

When Alex gets out of the station car with Winn, Lucy is outside the front doors, talking to an obviously recalcitrant Kara.

'Go straight back home to your mother, ok?' Lucy is telling the girl, sternly. 'No dawdling. I want you back at the mansion before the sun sets. Don’t make me send Winn with you'.

'But, what’s wrong?' Kara is asking, hands on her hips. 'I want to stay and help you find out!'

'Nothing’s wrong'. Lucy looks up, and sighs when she catches sight of Alex walking towards them. 'At least, I hope it isn’t. But, you need to be with your mother, Kara. She’s the one who needs you, right now'.

As Alex draws near, Kara turns to her, as if getting ready to argue her case anew.

'Better do as she says, kid', Alex says, forestalling the girl, and ruffles her hair, before turning her attention to Lucy. 'What is it?'

'Mayor Marsdin just came in', Lucy says, glancing at her briefly, before looking back down at Kara. 'She says she has something important to discuss with us, regarding the case. I really, _really_ need you to go home now, Kara'.

There’s a finality to her tone, then, and Kara nods and trots away. Alex turns to Lucy, more confused than ever.

'Where were you?' Lucy asks, forestalling her. Then, she frowns and sniffs, moving her head back from Alex as she does so. 'Were you swimming?'

'Long story', Alex says. 'I’ll fill you in after. What’s so urgent?'

Lucy just gestures her back into the station.

'I was looking after Kara, just like you asked', she murmurs, pulling open the door. 'Then the mayor called, and said she needed to talk to us at once. Thought you’d want to be present for it'.

Alex shares a confused look with Lucy, before following her in, to face the formidable looking woman seated in one of the waiting chairs inside the station.

Alex has never seen Mayor Olivia Marsdin before, except in blurry photos in the local newspaper. She realizes, as soon as she sees her, that she’d built an image up in her head of some six foot Amazon, rather than the woman in the neat skirt suit, who smiles at them over the magazine that she had been perusing. There’s still something arresting about her, but not exactly in the way that Alex had been picturing.

'Detective Danvers', the mayor says, striding over and shaking the hand that Alex involuntarily puts out. 'I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, from J’onn. Welcome to our small town'.

'Glad to be here', Alex mumbles, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

'Well, I suppose there’s no need to beat around the bush'. The mayor sighs, putting the magazine down, and following them over to a proper desk. 'You see, detectives, I’m here because an interesting bit of news has reached me through Cat, of the murder you are investigating'.

Alex hopes alarm is not showing on her face, as it is on Lucy’s. She’d known the mayor had taken some interest in the case - notorious as the media has made it - but she hadn’t anticipated any actual political interference.

'There’s no need to look so alarmed', the mayor says, smiling faintly at the two of them, as if she knows exactly what’s going through their mind. 'I trust the officers of this town to do their jobs. I’m not here to interfere with that'.

She sits down, and Alex and Lucy mechanically follow suit, opposite the table from her.

'Then why-' Lucy starts, and seems to choke on her words, before starting again, 'For what reason do we have the honour of your visit, Madame Mayor?'

'Well, Cat tells me that you’re suspecting her friend Alura, over some idea that she had pretended to be at a theatre out-of-town, when she had in fact been here committing the murder'.

'It’s just a theory', Alex says hastily, when Lucy turns very red in the face, as if she’s about to burst like an overripe tomato. 'We’re still investigating all leads'.

'I see', the mayor says, frowning. 'In that case, I believe I know something important that you might like to hear'.

'Do tell', Lucy says, but there’s a stiltedness to her tone that Alex knows masks great reluctance.

'Well, my friend Diana was in town that night', the Mayor says. 'She had invited me to a night out at the theatre, with her family. They were very eager to see _Anchors Aweigh,_ I remember, although it’s not at all the kind of drama I myself prefer'.

'Hang on', Lucy says, slowly. 'That’s the movie that Alura told me she was taking the children to see, the night of Lady Tressillian’s murder'.

The Mayor nods. 'Yes, I was getting to that. I was taking my seat with Diana and her husband, you see, and I happened to be looking around the theatre before the lights went out, and I spotted Alura, a few seats down and to the left of us'.

'You saw her?' Alex shares  a shocked glance with Lucy, before turning back to the mayor. 'You’re sure of this, Madame... uh, Miss..'.

'Just Olivia will do', Olivia Marsdin says, looking faintly amused. 'As for your question, yes. There’s no mistaking Alura, even from a distance. I remember seeing Kara a few rows ahead of her, and wondering at the seating arrangement, but Alura does have some modern ideas on child-rearing, and on the amount of freedom a child should be allowed'.

'She never mentioned you as an alibi', Alex says, after another shared glance with Lucy.

'I suppose I should have gone over and said hello'. Olivia smiles, apologetically. 'I meant to, but the film was starting by then, and Diana and Steve _had_ booked the seats for me specially'.

'Of course', Lucy murmurs, eyeing the mayor like a woman attending one last prayer for salvation. All her earlier reluctance seems to have vanished. 'And, you’re sure you saw her at intermission, too?'

'Oh yes', Olivia says. 'Alura remained in her seat. I was about to go over then, but there was something about her... she looked very grim and severe, just then. I distinctly got the impression that she didn’t want to be disturbed, so I let Diana drag me out to the lobby instead'.

'Well', Lucy says, drawing the word out breathily, 'That just about clears Alura, then. There’s no way that even the fastest car could have driven to the mansion and back to the theatre, in the time between intermission and the end of the film'.

'That’s a relief', Olivia says, smiling serenely at them. 'I know it makes your jobs more difficult, having to start over again, but Cat is rather fond of Alura, you know. I can put you in contact with Diana and her husband, if you want to double-check the events of the night with them, too'.

Alex and Lucy both nod, the latter with considerably more eagerness.

'Well, that’s all I have to tell you', Olivia says, getting up. 'I have to be off, now. I’m supposed to be giving an interview in an hour, and Perry White does hate to be kept waiting'.

Alex and Lucy walk her together to the door, as if in a joint haze. It isn’t until the mayor’s distinctive red car is driving off, that Alex jumps, her momentary daze lifted.

'We need to let Alura know!'

'Winn', Lucy says in a strained voice, walking back into the station. 'Can you please run over to the mansion, and let Alura know the news?'

The officer is out like a shot to his car, leaving Alex alone to stare at Lucy, who has a very peculiar expression on her face.

'You’re not telling her yourself?'

'I want to get the paperwork sorted out first', Lucy says, in an equally peculiar voice.

'The paperwork?' Alex asks. 'Lucy, _come on'._

The mask cracks, and Lucy collapses into a chair all at once.

'Thank god', she murmurs, scrubbing shaking hands over her face. 'The amount of sleep I’ve lost over this... thank _god_ '.

Alex nods, but remains silent, wondering how _Astra_ will take the news, and who will tell her. Will it be Alura herself, if Astra had gone to be with her as she promised?

Alex realizes that she hopes for exactly that. She remembers Astra’s wish to 'fix it', and nausea rises up inside her when she remembers exactly what Astra’s idea of fixing it had been. Maybe Alura will be able to drive it into Astra, more effectively than Alex, just how catastrophic an idea that had been.

'It’s a good thing I’ve already assigned Winn to take another look through the mansion’, Lucy murmurs, breaking into her thoughts. 'Now that we’ve got to start all over again, I mean'.

Alex blinks. 'Start over?'

'You realize that’s what this means, don’t you?' Lucy asks. 'We’re going to have to bring everyone in for interviews again'.

'Fine, I’ll call them up tomorrow', Alex says, and then yawns, as the exertion of the entire day catches up to her. 'No more today, though. I’m ready for bed, and I feel as if I could sleep for weeks'.

Lucy, on the other hand, practically skips around the station as she cleans up for the evening, with an energy that makes Alex feel exhausted just looking at her.

'We can arrange the interviews up over the next week or so', she’s saying. 'I’m sure we’ll find something soon. We just need a... a lightning bolt moment you know? A moment when something in this finally forms a pattern, and starts to make sense'.

Alex smiles. 'You’re very optimistic, all of a sudden'.

'Hard not to be, if you ask me', Lucy says, completely oblivious to Alex’s amusement. 'And then... wait, there’s one thing we have to do first'.

With a look of radiant relief, she brandishes the warrant for Alura, and rips it up, tossing the scraps into the rubbish bin with aplomb.

Alex watches her, unable to feel the same obvious relief as Lucy. Without conscious thought, her own fingers drift towards the drawer where she had locked the second warrant. All of a sudden, she feels an urge to unlock it, and check again that the document is still there.

When she looks up, Lucy is leaning against her desk, studying her. From her face, it’s clear that she knows exactly what Alex had been thinking about.

'You’re still on about that?' she asks. 'It’s a bit of a long shot, isn’t it?'

Alex shrugs, and balls up a piece of scrap paper to throw at her. 'How about you focus on running over to your girlfriend and making up, now that she’s off scot-free?'

Lucy throws a pencil at her in retaliation for that, that Alex just barely ducks. She still gets the last laugh, though, when the other woman makes a transparent excuse to leave the station a mere fifteen minutes later, no doubt already making plans on where exactly to invite Alura out to.

* * *

 

'Good grief', Lucy groans to Alex two days later, her newfound exuberance having been seemingly frayed away. 'I can’t believe we have to conduct interviews on a _Friday_. I usually schedule the day to catch up on all my paperwork'.

'What happened to Detective I’m Sure We’ll Find Something Soon?' Alex murmurs, modulating the glare thrown her way by passing Lucy a cup of freshly brewed tea.

'Oh, hush'.

Whatever reluctance Lucy might bemoan Alex with, she looks the very soul of professionalism by the time the clock strikes ten, and they’re seated in a secluded interview room, in front of their very first interviewee of the day.

'Good morning, detectives', Lionel Luthor greets them, with his usual affable nod of the head.

Alex and Lucy stare at each other, a silent last-minute conversation passing between them. Normally, Alex knows, Lucy would take the lead in interviews like these, so much so that they've followed that rule without even arranging it beforehand. This time, though, Lucy leans back in her seat, and it's Alex who turns back to Lionel to reply.

'Thank you for coming in, Mr. Luthor'.

'Lionel', he says. 'I think you've brought me in for questioning often enough that we should be on a first-name basis, by now'.

'Right', Alex says, refusing to be deterred. 'Mr. Luthor, you should know that this won't be like our previous interviews. We're not going to go through the whole song and dance of who you are, and where you were on the night of the murder, and so on'.

'Alright', the man says, looking faintly puzzled. 'Why did you bring me in, then?'

'We're bringing everyone in again, because we're looking at the case from a different angle now', Alex replies. 'Naturally, we have different questions'.

'Alright', Lionel says again. He leans back a little in his chair, and regards Alex with an expectant air. 'What do you need?'

'First, we want to get some facts straight about Lady Tressillian’s will', Alex says, smoothly as she can manage. No point in showing the man that she expects to be rebuffed.

'I’m afraid I can’t help much there', Lionel says, looking apologetic. 'Camilla could be secretive as the grave, sometimes. I haven’t had much time to go over the document myself, given... well, given everything else that has been going on. Only her lawyers can give you the full details'.

'Then, what about this new will that she supposedly drafted before her death?' Alex asks, 'Did you know anything about that?'

'Of course not', Lionel says. 'There isn’t one. Camilla was a dear, but she could also be quite absent-minded. I wouldn’t take everything she said at face value. If she had drafted a new will, I’m sure the lawyers would have known of it in no time'.

'Alright', Alex says. 'In that case, when were you made aware of the terms of Lady Tressillian’s current will?'

'When the solicitors contacted me after her death', Lionel says. 'I don’t know exactly how it divides - the firm will work those details out - but the estate is to be split between me and my wife'.

Beside her, Alex feels Lucy tense up at the confident way he uses the word, as if the thing is already decided.

'Fiancee, Mr. Luthor', she corrects Lionel, before the other woman can jump in with something ill-advised. 'I’m told that was the term used in the will, wasn't it?'

Lionel’s jaw works, but he doesn’t contradict her. Alex gives the comment time to settle, taking the opportunity to write down some more notes, before she speaks again.

'In this same will, I’m told that Lady Tressillian bequeathed some small amount of jewellery to your ex-wife Lillian. Were you aware of that?'

'Of course not'. Suddenly, Lionel looks uncharacteristically annoyed, perhaps even a little discomfited. 'Regardless, it’s hardly enough to live on'.

'I’m also told that Lillian refused to take a settlement from you, in your divorce', Alex continues, barrelling over him. 'Is that also true?'

'She was always proud', Lionel says, ruefully. 'She wouldn’t even hear of it'.

'Alright', Alex says, and makes a show of writing down some more notes, before she approaches - with some trepidation - the real question that she had been circling around. 'And the divorce... what was the reason for that?'

When there’s an extended silence to this, Alex looks up, not entirely surprised. Though Lionel’s expression remains stoic, there’s something about the quiver of his jaw, and the stiff set of his body, that tells her that the man is fighting with himself.

'Mr. Luthor', she prompts.

'Is this necessary?' Lionel asks.

'No', Alex admits. 'But, we’re trying to get a full picture of what’s going on here, and the answer would help'.

'Detective, I have tried to cooperate with you as best as I can', Lionel says quietly. 'But, this is going too far. I cannot answer this'.

'He means that he _won’t_ answer you', a loud voice announces from outside of the interview room. 'Because he never divorced her!'

* * *

 

Alex’s head snaps up in shock in the direction of the familiar voice, Lucy and Lionel following suit.

Before she can call out, the door is flying open, and Astra walks in, as calmly as if she’d made an appointment, and is fully expecting to be expected. Winn follows in close on her heels, peaking out at Alex and Lucy from behind Astra.

'I tried to tell her you shouldn’t be disturbed', he says, looking distressed, 'But she just-'

'Astra, what on Earth?' Lucy barks. 'Get out!'

'It was Lillian who divorced Lionel, not the other way around', Astra says, ignoring Lucy’s outrage. 'That’s why he won’t answer you. Come on, Lionel, tell them the truth'.

Lionel is looking as Astra with fury in his eyes, real and unbridled, and Alex realizes with a start that this is the most emotional she has ever seen the man.

'How did you-' he starts, before seeming to collect himself just barely. ' _No on_ e knew that. Did Lillian tell you? How dare you betray her confidence like this?'

He stops, draws a shaky breath, and opens his mouth again, but Lucy overrides whatever he had been about to say.

'Astra, you cannot be here!' she snaps. 'You know better than this. I don’t care how worried you are about your sister or your friend. This is _not the time'._

Still, Astra stands in the doorway like some avenging angel, a nemesis sent down to right wrongs, until Alex finally succeeds in locking in her gaze.

'Astra', she says, not really expecting any success, but figuring she ought to try. 'Leave us. Mr. Luthor has a right to his privacy'.

Astra glares back stubbornly for a few moments, before the fight seems to go out of her.

'Alright, hear him out yourself, then'. She is back out the door before Alex can blink. Alex hears her footsteps striding away, and then hears the front door of the station slam in the distance.

When she turns her attention back to the interview, Lionel seems to have retreated into himself, closing his eyes, and steepling his fingers together. When he opens his eyes again after a few moments, he seems to be in better control of himself, though his frown lingers.

'I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this', he murmurs. 'You must understand, I didn’t want Lillian’s name dragged through the mud'.

From the corner of her eyes, Alex sees Lucy’s hand tightening around the pencil she’s holding, so tight that she’s surprised it doesn’t snap in half.

'So, Astra was telling the truth?' Lucy asks. 'It wasn’t you who asked for the divorce?'

Lionel’s shoulders quiver, just a tad.

'Of course not'. He sighs. 'Lillian was...is... she was my _wife'._

This time, Alex definitely hears the creak of a wood under great stress, from Lucy’s direction.

'Do you know why?' she asks.

'She said she wanted time to herself', Lionel says, studying the desk between them. 'This was right before her breakdown, and she was definitely showing signs of the stress she was under already. I supposed that, with motherhood, and Camilla’s demands, and me being away at tournaments so often... well, I supposed that it had all got to be too much for her. I was afraid that if I didn’t grant her the divorce, she might... that there’d be-'

He pauses, still staring down at the table, the only outward sign of stress being a muscle working in his jaw.

'You were afraid she might have a breakdown', Alex finishes for him. 'And, she did'.

The breath held up inside Lionel seems to go out all at once.

'What could I do?' he asks. 'Of course I gave her what she wanted. We arranged it so that I would be the one to divorce her... it wouldn’t look quite so bad for her, then, especially coming on the heels of her hospitalization'.

'That’s the real reason why she didn’t fight for custody of Lena, isn’t it?' Alex guesses, and it all seems so clear to her, then. 'And that's also why she didn’t want to take your money, either?'

A smile twists Lionel’s lips. 'I was glad Camilla was able to get through to her on that point, at least'.

Alex stares at the man, then at Lucy, who seems to be frozen, and comes to a decision.

'I don’t think there’s any point in dragging this out any further, Mr. Lu... Lionel', she says, 'I’m sorry for bringing up what are no doubt some very painful memories'.

The man is very subdued as he takes his leave, not that Lucy seems to care, stiff as she is. Alex herself is too busy working out what they’ve just learned, to bother much about it herself.

'Well', Lucy finally speaks, some moments later. 'What the hell was that?'

'A bombshell', Alex says. Suddenly, laughter bubbles up inside her. 'Well, you did ask for a lightning bolt to strike, didn't you?'

'Not like this', Lucy protests, as she follows Alex out of the interview room. 'I feel like... I don’t know, I feel like all my thoughts have just been turned upside down'.

'Mm-hmm', Alex murmurs, as she hastily clears her desk, and locks her notebook away.

'Did you listen to the way Lionel talked about Lillian though?' Lucy asks, frowning and looking somewhat offended. 'Even the way he said her name... Alex, I’ve never heard him speak that way about Alura'.

'Mm-hmm', Alex murmurs again.

She can sense the other woman looking at her askance, as she continues her hurried cleanup.

'What are you in such a rush for?' Lucy asks. 'Lunch isn’t for an hour, yet'.

'I’m taking it early today', Alex says. 'I’ll be back in time for the next interview, don’t worry'.

'Why?' Lucy demands. 'Where are you off to?'

Alex takes her jacket off the back of her chair, and neatly slings it over her arm.

'To the dry cleaner', she says, as she heads for the door. 'I’ve got to see a man about my suits'.

* * *

 

The next day finds Alex perched alone on one of the large rocks in cove, somewhat far out in the sea. Despite an unseasonable chill, the air is surprisingly mist-free, giving her a clear view for miles around.

A pair of field glasses in hand, Alex shivers and wrinkles her nose,  trying to ignore the now-familiar stink of fish and seaweed. She trains the glasses up towards the opposite side of the cove again, panning up from the sheer cliff to the familiar mansion that stands on it. Momentarily, as her gazes moves up the side wall of the mansion, Alex finds herself blinded by the glare of the sun reflecting off the windows. She rears back and blinks, and that's when she catches the sound of quick feet striding over the rocky path behind her, the walker seemingly unafraid of slipping.

Alex smiles without looking back, fully expecting the teasing voice that enters her ears a minute later.

'Is your eyesight that poor?'

Alex puts down the field glasses and shifts over, just as Astra clambers up the rock next to her.

'What do you need those for? The air is pretty clear, today'.

When Alex does turn to look at her, Astra is wearing the familiar aviator jacket that she seems to favour so much, but it's the jumper she's wearing underneath it, that catches Alex's attention.

'Hey, that's mine!' she says, recognizing it as the one she had lent Astra at the cottage.

Astra smiles, and pulls unconsciously at the threads of the jumper.

'Do you want it back?' she asks, lifting her eyebrows, and her hands stray to the hem of the garment, as if preparing to take it off.

'No!' Alex yelps, looking back hastily at the other beachgoers by the shoreline, quite a few of whom are looking at them curiously, possibly wondering what they're doing so far out to sea near high tide.

Astra retreats her hands, looking far too satisfied. Alex notices that she seems much calmer, and more at peace, than she has seen her in weeks. No doubt it’s entirely due to Alura now having been exonerated of suspicion. There's a languidness to the way Astra drapes herself over the rock, that's very different from the tension-ridden woman that Alex has known every since Lady Tressillian's murder had first come to light.

'So, what are you studying, detective?' Astra asks now, with her entire body curled over the rock in a way that makes her look like a very large, very strange cat.

'Birds', Alex says vaguely, at which point a skeptical glance is directed her way.

'You are, are you?' Astra asks. 'Name one bird that you've seen flying around here'.

'...Gulls?' Alex chances, trying not to give the game away by obviously looking around for an avian stray. 'Sea gulls?'

' _All_ gulls are seagulls'. Astra props her head up on one elbow, looking mildly disgruntled in a way that reminds Alex of Kara. 'I could've sworn you were pointing those at the mansion. What are you really up to, Alex?'

'I would tell you, but it’ll sound strange'.

'What part of any interaction between us, during our entire acquaintance, has seemed normal to you?' Astra asks. 'Out with it'.

Alex caves. 'Alright, alright. How well do you know the mansion? The layout of it, I mean'.

Astra seems to give the matter some thought, before she answers.

'Well, I secretly went through just about every part of it, when Lionel first invited Alura to move in there', she admits. 'Does this have anything to do with the fact that Lucy has Officer Schott turning the whole place inside out again?'

'Not exactly', Alex says. 'This is about a strange hunch I've got'.

Without really thinking about it, she scoots a little closer to Astra, even though no one can hear this them far away from the shore.

‘Suppose someone wanted to store something away in the mansion’, she says. ‘Something perfectly normal. Where would such a thing be stored?’

Astra looks bemused, now. 'What sort of something?'

'I don't know, yet. Something that wouldn't necessarily be out of place, but also something that you wouldn't use very often'.

'And you think I'm hard to read', Astra says. 'Well, ever since Camila took all of us in, all the spare rooms are pretty much occupied. There's a storage cellar downstairs, but it's mostly used to store spare crockery. Cat took over the only guest room left on the main floor to store all the seasonal draperies. Other than that, all sorts of odds and ends get thrown into the attic'.

Alex nods, her mind only half on the answer. The other half is still focused on the cliff, the house, those damned blinding windows.

Then, she blinks, as arms encircle her all of a sudden, and a weight is deposited over her shoulders. Belatedly, Alex realizes that Astra has taken off her jacket, and draped it over her.

'What are you-'

'You were shivering', Astra says. 'What possessed you to come out in such a thin shirt? I've rarely seen you without your suits'.

'Oh'. Alex loops her arms through the sleeves mechanically, noting how warm the inside of the jacket is. 'Yes, well, I dropped all mine off at the cleaner's yesterday'.

'Mm-hmm', Astra murmurs, curling up around the rock again. 'So, what's got you so enamoured with the manion's layout, all of a sudden?'

Alex turns back to the cliff face.

'It's just, it's a pretty steep climb up those cliffs', she says.

'I would know', Astra says, sounding amused. 'I had to carry you up half of one of those, when I saved you'.

'You were just a child', Alex says, the non-sequitor exiting her lips without her planning it. 'You can't have been that tall, Astra. The child you shot at... if he was at the top with Alura, and you were still climbing, you had the angle to cliff between you and him'.

She looks back, to see that Astra's lazy smile has frozen on her lips. 'What?'

'I'm just saying, it's a really awkward angle', Alex says. 'Even if you almost at the top by the time you let the arrow lost, you'd still be taking the shot with your view partly blocked'.

'What are you saying, Alex?'

'And that's not even taking in the strong winds up there', Alex continues. 'I know you said you were a good shot, but... you must have been _amazing_ , to pull that off'.

Astra looks confused, now, or maybe just hurt. 'Are you complimenting me on how skillful I was, in murdering a child?'

 _'No,_ Astra'.

Alex scoots closer to Astra, and chances a look around, before kissing her on the cheek, and then again at the corner her lips, for good measure. She takes her hand, and links their fingers together, her chilly fingers against the other woman's warmer ones, before she continues.

'I'm trying to work something out, but I'm not sure... in fact, I must be out of my mind to even be thinking of it'.

Astra looks only marginally placated, and her fingers tighten, burrowing indomitably into the spaces between Alex's knuckles. 'I've had more than my fair share of bad ideas, as you've recently had firsthand proof of. Tell me'.

'I don't have the details of it yet', Alex admits. 'But, I think I'll be able to figure it out, if you can find something out for me'.

'Find out what?'

'The will', Alex says. 'The one that Lady Tressillian left. I need you to find out the details of it for me'.

Astra's forehead wrinkles. 'The new one? Alex, I told you, I didn't even know there was a new will. I'm still not convinced there is, mind you'.

'Not a new will', Alex says. 'I'm talking about the old one, that was filed with the lawyers. I want to know exactly what's in it, and when it was filed, but I don't want it known that we're officially looking into it. I figured that... well, if you found out the truth about Lionel and Lillian's divorce, this ought to be easy for you, and no one would suspect you of working with me'.

Despite her breezy words, she feels more than a little anxious, as she takes in Astra's narrowed gaze.

'And how do you think I'll find all that out?' Astra asks. 'Are you expecting me to break into one of the oldest and most venerable law firms in the country?'

'I don't know', Alex says. 'I just thought-'

'And even if I could', Astra says, speaking over her. 'I don't take orders from you, detective'.

Then, her voice turns low and throaty, as she eyes Alex speculatively. 'Well, except maybe in-'

Before Astra even finishes the sentence, Alex chokes on thin air, coughing and spluttering.

'I didn't- I wasn't-'

At that, Astra's narrow stare morphs into a triumphant smile. She pats Alex on the back, as her coughs subside.

'I was just pulling your leg', she says, leaning over to kiss Alex, full on the mouth. 'If you want the details of the will, consider it done, Detective Danvers'.

She clambers down the rock while Alex is still dazed from the kiss, and saunters away over the rocks after a languid wave. Alex, staring after her, realizes belatedly that she still has Astra's jacket on.

'Hey, Astra, the-'

Her voice trails off when she realizes the woman is surely too far away to hear her now. And, well, the jacket _is_ really warm, and it still smells like Astra.  Alex wraps it tighter around herself, and returns to studying the cliff face upon which the mansion resides, wondering if she really is out of her mind to consider what she’s considering.

* * *

 

The next afternoon, though it's her day off again, Alex decides to drop by the station on her way to town, sure that she'll find Lucy working away there. When Alura had been cleared of charges, she had assumed the woman would slow down in her zeal to catch the murderer. If anything, Lucy seems to be even more fired up now, working long hours into the night, as if she wants to close the case before there is any chance of Alura being brought into it again.

Walking into the station that afternoon, though, Alex is surprised to find that Lucy is in fact not at her desk, leaving only Winn to man the entire station.

'Where's our detective gone off to, Winn?'

'Alura came and invited her for lunch in the town', Winn says. 'Apparently the kids are out on some treasure hunt game with Cat, so she had some free time'.

'Ah', Alex says. 'That would do it'.

She should have expected it, really. The whole week, Alura has 'just happened' to drop by the station on her way to some errand or other, at exactly the time that Lucy takes her lunch. Like mother, like daughter, Alex supposes, and she isn't particularly surprised to hear that the two have graduated to a proper outing.

'Well, as long as you're here, at least I can pass this on', Winn says, tossing a book at her.

Alex catches it out of the air, and frowns at the title. _Coastal Birds: A Photographic Guide._

'What on earth?'

'Astra came by this morning, and dropped it off', Winn says. 'She told me you asked her to get it for you. You taking up bird-watching, Danvers?'

Mystified, Alex shakes her head, and flips through the pages.

'There's something else you should know', Winn says, oblivious. 'You know how Lucy asked me to go through and search the mansion once again, to make sure we didn't miss anything? Well, I noticed something in th-'

He yelps mid-word, as an envelope flies out of the pages that Alex is rapidly rifling through. Alex snatches it out of the air before he can, and stalks over to her desk, ripping it open and running her eyes over Astra’s distinctive scrawl on the letter inside.

'What is it?' Winn asks, some moments later, when she's finished reading. “What does it say?”

‘Nothing’, Alex says, folding up the letter and tucking it away into her pocket.

‘Uh-huh, I’m sure that’s why Astra came in so early to give it to me’, Winn says, not looking like he believes her in the slightest. ‘So, listen, about what I found-’

‘Tell Lucy when she comes back,’ Alex says, locking the book into her desk drawer. ‘Sorry Winn, I have an appointment I need to get to.’

‘Alright, it’s probably nothing anyways’ Winn says, settling back in his seat, as Alex heads out the door. ‘Where are you off to? What if the murderer comes in while you and Lucy are gone, huh?'

'Try not to die', Alex calls back, without breaking her stride. 'I’m off to the dry cleaners. It looks like I've got to see some suits about a man'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last sentence is definitely a callout to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, for those wondering :P

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you for reading the chapter. This fic is a GD and MJY au of Towards Zero, which happens to be one of both our favourite Agatha Christie mysteries... we just added a whole lot more gay and romance into it. So it was a ton of fun writing this, and we hope you guys have as much fun reading it!


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